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10 B1G defensive players included on 2019 Lott IMPACT Trophy Watch List
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You know the college football season is creeping up when the watch lists for the upcoming year are beginning to trickle out.
On Friday, the Lott IMPACT Trophy released its list of 42 watch list candidates for the 2019 season. Ten of those defensive stars came from the B1G. There were six B1G linebackers, two defensive ends and two defensive backs on the list.
Michigan is the only school to have multiple candidates. Below is the full list of the B1G candidates named to the watch list:
- Markus Bailey, LB — Purdue
- Mohamed Barry, LB — Nebraska
- Joe Bachie, LB — Michigan State
- A.J. Epenesa, DE — Iowa
- Paddy Fisher, LB — Northwestern
- Jordan Fuller, DB — Ohio State
- Yetur Gross-Matos, DE — Penn State
- Khaleke Hudson, LB — Michigan
- Josh Metellus, S — Michigan
- Chris Orr, LB — Wisconsin
According to the website, the Lott IMPACT Trophy is awarded to college football’s Defensive IMPACT Player of the Year. It is the first college football award to recognize athletic performance and the personal character attributes of the player.
The award was started in 2004 and five B1G players have received the honor of being named the Lott Defensive IMPACT Player of the Year: James Laurinaitis (Ohio State, 2008), J.J. Watt (Wisconsin, 2010), Carl Nassib (Penn State, 2015), Jabrill Peppers (Michigan, 2016), Josey Jewell (Iowa, 2017).
Last year’s winner was Kentucky’s Joshua Allen.
Dustin grew up in the heart of Big Ten country and has been in sports media since 2010. He has been covering Big Ten football since 2014. You can follow him on Twitter: @SchutteCFB