Marcus Lattimore (right), Devin Taylor (center), Jadeveon Clowney (right) (US PRESSWIRE)
Columbia, SC (WLTX) - Marcus Lattimore, Jadeveon Clowney, and Devin Taylor are three of the players expected to lead the Gamecocks to glory this upcoming season. And a group of football experts seems to agree about their prowess, as the trio has been named to two top preseason watch lists.
The Maxwell Award and the Bednarik Award released their lists Monday of players expected to compete for their awards. Lattimore made the list for the Maxwell, while Clowney and Taylor are on the Bednarik list.
The Maxwell Award, which has been given since 1937, goes to the athlete judged to be the best player in college football. In recent decades it's more commonly gone to offensive players, with the most recent trophy awarded to Stanford's Andrew Luck.
The Bednarik, established in 1995, goes to the national's top defensive player. Last year LSU's Tyrann Mathieu won the award.
Lattimore, a junior, is coming off a knee injury suffered last October, but is expected to lead the Gamecocks rushing attack. Clowney, a sophomore, and Taylor, a senior, will bookend one of the top defensive lines in the nation.