Award Watch Lists: A breakdown of every Florida State football player nominated in 2023
The expectations for the 2023 Florida State football are high.
The Seminoles are coming off a 10-win season and a Cheez-It Bowl victory over Oklahoma during the 2022 season.
With high expectations, there are a number of FSU players who are on award watch lists this season.
Keep up with the players nominated for awards here. This will be updated as new watchlists are released ahead of the season.
(Updated Aug. 15): FSU has 10 players nominated for 23 different watch lists.
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Jordan Travis
Maxwell Award Watch List, Davey O’Brien Watch List, Walter Camp Player of the Year Watch List and Manning Award List
Jordan Travis is one of 35 quarterbacks in the country on the Davey O’Brien Award Watch List and is one of two FSU players on the Maxwell Award and Walter Camp Player of the Year Watch Lists.
The Maxwell Award is presented annually to the outstanding player in college football.
Two of FSU’s Heisman Trophy winners - Charlie Ward in 1993 and Jameis Winston in 2013 - brought home the Walter Camp Player of the Year honor.
He is an early candidate for the Heisman Trophy in 2023, seeking to become the first player since Jameis Winston (2013), to win the honors. Charlie Ward (1993) and Chris Weinke (2000) are the others to win the Heisman Award for FSU.
Travis finished the 2022 season 226-of-353 passing for 3,214 yards with 24 touchdowns and only five interceptions while adding 417 yards and seven touchdowns on the ground as well as one receiving touchdown.
According to Pro Football Focus, he led all Power Five QBs with a 91.8 overall offensive grade.
He is among the 33 quarterbacks on this year’s Manning Award Watch List.
The Manning Award was first presented following the 2004 season and is the only national quarterback award that includes bowl performances in its balloting.
Trey Benson
Maxwell Award Watch List, Paul Hornung Watch List and Doak Walker Award Watch List
Trey Benson joins Travis as a contender for the most outstanding player in college football in the Maxwell Award List.
He is also up for the Paul Hornung Award, which is given annually to the most versatile player in major college football.
Benson was named to the Doak Walker Award Watch List on Aug. 9. The Doak Walker Award has been presented annually to the nation’s top college running back since 1990,
Benson proved to be last season, finishing as the most elusive running back in college football, according to PFF.
In 2022, rushed for 990 yards and nine touchdowns while adding 144 yards on 13 receptions. He also added 192 yards with one touchdown on five kickoff returns in his first season with the Seminoles.
Johnny Wilson
Biletnikoff Award Watch List
Johnny Wilson earned a spot on the All-ACC second-team last season, his first with the Seminoles.
He led FSU with 43 receptions for 897 yards and five touchdowns, ranking second in the conference and fifth nationally with 20.86 yards per catch.
Wilson led the ACC and was third in the country with 22 catches of at least 20 yards last season.
The Pacoima, California, native was the leading vote-getter among wide receivers on this year’s Preseason All-ACC Team.
Wilson opted to return to the Seminoles despite a chance of being drafted last season, especially coming off a strong Cheez-It Bowl performance where he had a career-high eight receptions for a career-best 202 yards. His catch set up the game-winning field goal from Ryan Fitzgerald.
Keon Coleman
Biletnikoff Award Watch List
Another transfer who is expected to play a major role for the Seminoles in 2023 is Michigan State transfer Keon Coleman.
Coleman was rated as the No. 4 wide receiver in the transfer portal by 247Sports after he finished 2022 with 65 receptions for 848 yards and eight touchdowns. His big season earned him a spot on the third-team All-Big Ten.
The Opelousas, Louisiana, native ranked in the top eight in the conference in receiving yards, receiving touchdowns and total receptions. His 15 catches of at least 20 yards were the fourth-highest total in the Big Ten.
Coleman recorded a career-high 155 yards on five catches at No. 4 Michigan, the third-highest by a Spartan against the Wolverines in series history.
Jeremiah Byers
Outland Trophy Watch List
Only interior linemen on offense or defense are eligible for the Outland Trophy, which transfer Jeremiah Byers (UTEP) falls into.
Byers was the No. 1 offensive tackle and No. 19 overall player in the transfer portal according to 247Sports.
The Austin, Texas, native earned first-team All-Conference USA honors last season when he helped UTEP rank fifth nationally in time of possession.
He appeared in 33 games with 30 starts at right tackle for the Miners. Currently, he is projected to start at right tackle for FSU in 2023.
D’Mitri Emmanuel
Lombardi Award Watch List
D’Mitri Emmanuel started all 13 games at right guard in 2022 and was selected as a third-team All-ACC performer by the conference and a second-team All-ACC selection by Phil Steele.
Emmanuel blocked for an offense that led the country with an average of 7.46 plays of at least 20 yards per game and tied for the national lead with eight touchdown drives of at least 90 yards. Florida State led the ACC in third-down offense, yards gained per pass attempt, yards gained per play, yards gained per rush, total offense per game, yards per completion, rushing offense per game and scoring offense per game.
The Lombardi Award was first presented in 1970 and annually recognizes the college football offensive or defensive lineman who exemplifies the character and discipline of NFL Hall of Fame head coach Vince Lombardi.
Jared Verse
Bronko Nagurski Watch List, Wuerffel Trophy Watch List, Walter Camp Player of the Year Watch List, Bednarik Award Watch List and Lombardi Award Watch List
Jared Verse went from an unknown to a national name quickly in his first season with FSU in 2022.
He recorded 48 tackles, including 17.0 for loss with 9.0 sacks, three quarterback hurries, one fumble recovery and one blocked field goal in his first season with the Seminoles. He received the most All-ACC votes on defense while being named a first-team all-conference performer.
The Dayton, Ohio, native was the only player in the ACC and one of two Power 5 defenders nationally with four games of 2.5 tackles for loss in 2022.
Verse led the ACC and ranked 17th in the country with his average of 0.75 sacks per game, and his average of 1.4 tackles for loss per game was second in the conference and 10th nationally.
He by-passed a potential chance to be a first-round pick to return to the Seminoles.
The Bednarik Award is presented to the college defensive player of the year by the Maxwell Football Club.
Tatum Bethune
Butkus Award Watch List
Tatum Bethune is another player from the transfer portal who contributed to the Seminoles in a big way in 2022. The redshirt senior started his career off at Central Florida before joining FSU last offseason.
Bethune appeared in all 13 games last season with 11 starts and earned All-ACC recognition after recording 84 tackles, including 9.5 tackles loss with 3.0 sacks, three pass breakups, one fumble recovery and one quarterback hurry.
His tackles and tackles for loss totals both ranked second on the team and first among FSU's linebackers.
The Butkus Award was first presented to the top collegiate linebacker in 1985
Fentrell Cypress II
Bronko Nagurski Watch List and Thorpe Award Watch List
Fentrell Cypress II joined the Seminoles during the offseason out of the transfer portal.
Last season with Virginia, he was named second-team All-ACC this season after recording 39 tackles and 14 pass breakups for Virginia in 2022.
He led the country with an average of 1.6 pass breakups per game in 2022, while his 14 total pass breakups were tops in the ACC and ninth nationally.
After his career with the Cavaliers, he was rated as the No. 4 transfer portal prospect by 247Sports.
The Thorpe Award has been presented annually to the nation's top college defensive back since 1986.
Alex Mastromanno
Ray Guy Award Watch List
Alex Mastromanno is entering his fourth season as FSU’s primary punter in 2023.
He is averaging 42.7 yards per punt which includes 17 punts of at least 50 yards.
He has dropped 39 punts inside the 20-yard line and only had four touchbacks. That included a streak of 100 consecutive punts without a touchback that began in the 2020 season and ended last season.
The Melbourne, Australia, native has forced 58 fair catches and has a net punting average of 40.2 yards per punt in his 33 games played.
Reach Ehsan Kassim at ekassim@gannett.com or follow him on Twitter at @Ehsan_Kassim. You can also follow our coverage on Facebook (NoleSports) and Instagram (tlhnolesports).
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This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: FSU football: Jordan Travis, Jared Verse among Seminoles watch lists
