Indiana University Athletics
Kamara Among Preseason Walter Camp Award Watch List
8/4/2025 2:00:00 PM | Football
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – The Walter Camp Foundation has announced its preseason watch list for the college football player of the year award with Indiana defensive lineman Mikail Kamara among the 45-player list to open the college football season.
The award watch list will be narrowed to 10 semifinalists in early November, and three finalists will be announced in early December. The 2025 Walter Camp Player of the Year will be announced on ESPN's College Football Awards Show on December 12.
A 2024 finalist for the Lott IMPACT Trophy and semifinalist for the Bednarik Award, Kamara was a second-team All-America pick by The Athletic and first Indiana defensive lineman since Greg Middleton (first team) in 2007 to earn All-America status. The first-team All-Big Ten selection led the FBS in total pressures (73) and graded as the No. 4 edge rusher in the Big Ten and No. 15 in Power 4 (86.7) per Pro Football Focus a season ago.
To date, Kamara has been a part of three preseason All-America teams (Athlon Sports, 2nd; Phil Steele, 2nd; Walter Camp, 2nd) and is a member of the preseason watch list for the Lott IMPACT Trophy and Bronko Nagurski Trophy.
Considered the "Father of American Football," Walter Camp introduced the play from scrimmage, set plays, the numerical assessment of goals and tries and the restriction of play to eleven men per side in 1880. Nine years later, Mr. Camp, then the Yale University head coach, selected the first-ever college football All-America team. The Walter Camp Football Foundation – a New Haven-based all-volunteer group – was founded in 1967 to perpetuate the ideals of Camp and to continue the tradition of selecting annually an All-America team.
The Walter Camp Foundation is a member of the National College Football Awards Associa??on (NCFAA), which encompasses college football's most prestigious awards. The NCFAA's 25 awards have honored more than 950 recipients since 1935. Visit NCFAA.org for more information.
The award watch list will be narrowed to 10 semifinalists in early November, and three finalists will be announced in early December. The 2025 Walter Camp Player of the Year will be announced on ESPN's College Football Awards Show on December 12.
A 2024 finalist for the Lott IMPACT Trophy and semifinalist for the Bednarik Award, Kamara was a second-team All-America pick by The Athletic and first Indiana defensive lineman since Greg Middleton (first team) in 2007 to earn All-America status. The first-team All-Big Ten selection led the FBS in total pressures (73) and graded as the No. 4 edge rusher in the Big Ten and No. 15 in Power 4 (86.7) per Pro Football Focus a season ago.
To date, Kamara has been a part of three preseason All-America teams (Athlon Sports, 2nd; Phil Steele, 2nd; Walter Camp, 2nd) and is a member of the preseason watch list for the Lott IMPACT Trophy and Bronko Nagurski Trophy.
Considered the "Father of American Football," Walter Camp introduced the play from scrimmage, set plays, the numerical assessment of goals and tries and the restriction of play to eleven men per side in 1880. Nine years later, Mr. Camp, then the Yale University head coach, selected the first-ever college football All-America team. The Walter Camp Football Foundation – a New Haven-based all-volunteer group – was founded in 1967 to perpetuate the ideals of Camp and to continue the tradition of selecting annually an All-America team.
The Walter Camp Foundation is a member of the National College Football Awards Associa??on (NCFAA), which encompasses college football's most prestigious awards. The NCFAA's 25 awards have honored more than 950 recipients since 1935. Visit NCFAA.org for more information.
Players Mentioned
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