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Conference USA recognized 70 players Monday afternoon on its 2021 preseason watchlist.
The watchlist substitutes the C-USA’s previous method of releasing First and Second Team All-Conference preseason lists. Voters for the watchlist included all 14 C-USA head coaches.
Offense
| Pos. | Player | College | Class |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pos. | Player | College | Class |
| QB | Grant Wells | Marshall | Fr. |
| QB | Bailey Zappe | WKU | Gr. |
| RB | Frank Gore Jr. | Southern Miss | Fr. |
| RB | Sincere McCormick | UTSA | Jr. |
| RB | De'Wayne McBride | UAB | So. |
| RB | D'Vonte Price | FIU | Sr. |
| RB | Marcus Williams | Louisiana Tech | Gr. |
| WR | Jason Brownlee | Southern Miss | Jr. |
| WR | Jacob Cowing | UTEP | So. |
| WR | Jarrin Pierce | Middle Tennessee | Sr. |
| WR | Brandon Robinson | Florida Atlantic | Sr. |
| WR | Bradley Rozner | Rice | Jr. |
| WR | Jyaire Shorter | North Texas | So. |
| WR | Victor Tucker | Charlotte | Sr. |
| OL | Shea Baker | Rice | Jr. |
| OL | Jacob Brammer | North Texas | Jr. |
| OL | Spencer Burford | UTSA | Sr. |
| OL | Bobby DeHaro | UTEP | Jr. |
| OL | D'Mitri Emmanuel | Charlotte | Sr. |
| OL | Arvin Fletcher | Southern Miss | Sr. |
| OL | Lyndell Hudson Jr. | FIU | So. |
| OL | Alex Mollette | Marshall | Sr. |
| OL | Joshua Mote | Louisiana Tech | Jr. |
| OL | Jordan Palmer | Middle Tennessee | Jr. |
| OL | Nick Saldiveri | Old Dominion | So. |
| OL | Cole Spencer | WKU | Jr. |
| OL | Kadeem Telfort | UAB | Jr. |
| OL | Khalique Washington | Southern Miss | Sr. |
| OL | Isaac Weaver | Old Dominion | Sr. |
| OL | Nick Weber | Florida Atlantic | Jr. |
Defense
| Pos. | Player | College | Class |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pos. | Player | College | Class |
| DL | Praise Amaewhule | UTEP | So. |
| DL | Evan Anderson | Florida Atlantic | Fr. |
| DL | Jamare Edwards | Marshall | Jr. |
| DL | Jordan Ferguson | Middle Tennessee | Jr. |
| DL | Elijah Garcia | Rice | Sr. |
| DL | Jaylon Haynes | UTSA | Sr. |
| DL | DeAngelo Malone | WKU | Sr. |
| DL | Antonio Moultrie | UAB | Jr. |
| DL | Dion Novil | North Texas | Sr. |
| DL | Davon Strickland | FIU | So. |
| DL | Markees Watts | Charlotte | Sr. |
| LB | Trey Baldwin | Louisiana Tech | Sr. |
| LB | K.D. Davis | North Texas | Jr. |
| LB | Tyler Murray | Charlotte | Sr. |
| LB | Jordan Young | Old Dominion | Sr. |
| DB | Reed Blankenship | Middle Tennessee | Sr. |
| DB | Richard Dames | FIU | Sr. |
| DB | Zyon Gilbert | Florida Atlantic | Sr. |
| DB | Steven Gilmore | Marshall | Jr. |
| DB | Joe Joe Headen | Old Dominion | Sr. |
| DB | Dy'Vonne Inyang | UTEP | Sr. |
| DB | Antwon Kincade | WKU | Sr. |
| DB | Kristopher Moll | UAB | Sr. |
| DB | Naeem Smith | Rice | Sr. |
| DB | BeeJay Williamson | Louisiana Tech | So. |
| DB | Rashad Wisdom | UTSA | Jr. |
Special Teams
| Pos. | Player | College | Class |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pos. | Player | College | Class |
| K | Briggs Bourgeois | Southern Miss | Jr. |
| K | Jonathan Cruz | Charlotte | Sr. |
| K | Brayden Narveson | WKU | So. |
| K | Nick Rice | Old Dominion | Sr. |
| P | Lucas Dean | UTSA | Jr. |
| P | Kyle Greenwell | UAB | Jr. |
| P | Matt Hayball | Florida Atlantic | Jr. |
| P | Tommy Heatherly | FIU | Sr. |
| P | Kyle Ulbrich | Middle Tennessee | Jr. |
| PR | Justin Garrett | UTEP | Sr. |
| PR | Smoke Harris | Louisiana Tech | So. |
| PR | Talik Keaton | Marshall | So. |
| LS | Nate Durham | North Texas | Jr. |
| LS | Campbell Riddle | Rice | Jr. |
All 14 member institutions received two offensive and two defensive selections, with the exception of Southern Miss. The Golden Eagles landed four offensive players on the watchlist, but zero defensive players by contrast. Each C-USA program was featured once on the special teams watchlist. When summed together, that adds up to an equal representation of five players from each team.
Two graduate transfers with zero prior C-USA experience landed on the watchlist. WKU quarterback Bailey Zappe was one of two quarterbacks featured, along with Marshall’s Grant Wells. Zappe was the leading passer at the FCS level last season and averaged an astronomical 458 yards per game through the air before taking his talents to Bowling Green, KY.
Marcus Williams Jr., a longtime Appalachian State running back, is the other newcomer on the list. After four consecutive seasons of rushing for 500 yards for the Mountaineers, Williams transferred to Louisiana Tech this offseason in hopes of bolstering the Bulldogs’ run game.
In addition two a pair of newcomers, the watchlist also includes a slew of familiar faces. There are 10 players on the 2021 preseason watchlist from the 2020 All-C-USA First Team:
- Grant Wells, QB, Marshall
- Sincere McCormick, RB, UTSA
- DeAngelo Malone, DE, WKU
- Dion Novil, DT, North Texas
- Steven Gilmore, CB, Marshall
- Kristopher Moll, SS, UAB
- BeeJay Williamson, SS, Louisiana Tech
- Rashad Wisdom, SS, UTSA
- Lucas Dean, P, UTSA
- Talik Keaton, PR, Marshall
The 2020 C-USA media days kick off this Wednesday with the East division and will be followed up by the West division on Thursday. The conference officially launches its 2021 season in action on Aug. 28 when UTEP pays a visit to New Mexico State.