All of the Longhorns on award preseason watch lists

AUSTIN (KXAN) — College football training camps are kicking off around the country as the calendar turns to August, and that also means the postseason award committees are getting their names out there.

An easy way to do that is to create a preseason watch list. Award committees take players who performed well the season before, or in some cases, players who they expect to perform well without basing it on previous seasons, and create a somewhat arbitrary list for sports pundits to argue about.

The committees will slim down their lists as the season progresses. Some will update them in the middle of the season, while some wait until the latter portions of the year and create a "semifinal" watch list before a final push to a finalist list and eventually giving the award out.

There are occasions where someone who wasn't on a preseason watch list gets added later on if they've performed above expectations, and the opposite is true. If someone doesn't perform well or gets injured, they can be removed. Each committee handles its lists differently, so if you're looking for more information, follow the links provided.

Here are all the Texas Longhorns players and coaches on some form of national award preseason watch list. This will be updated throughout August with the most current information, so be sure to keep checking to see if more Longhorns make the lists.

Texas Longhorns on award preseason watch lists

Dodd Trophy (most outstanding FBS coach): Steve Sarkisian

Walter Camp Preseason All-Americans: Colin Simmons and Anthony Hill Jr. (1st team), Michael Taaffe (2nd team)

Maxwell Award (Player of the year, awarded by Maxwell Football Club): Arch Manning, Quintrevion Wisner

Bronko Nagurski Trophy (best defensive player via FWAA voting): Hill, Simmons, Taaffe

Outland Trophy (best interior lineman via FWAA voting): DJ Campbell

Jim Thorpe Award (best defensive back): Taaffe, Malik Muhammad

Butkus Award (best linebacker): Hill, Liona Lefau