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MANHATTAN, Kan. – The National College Football Awards Association (NCFAA) unveils its preseason watch lists for 16 of its awards from Monday, August 3 through Friday, August 21. Below is a running list of K-State's watch list members. K-State's 2026 Watch List Members Award Player(s) Award Description Maxwell Award Joe Jackson and Avery Johnson Most Outstanding Player in College Football Outland Trophy John Pastore Most Outstanding Interior Lineman John Mackey Award Garrett Oakley Most Outstanding Tight End Lou Groza Award Luis Rodriguez Nation's Top Placekicker MAXWELL AWARD Presented to the college player of the year by the Maxwell Football Club 2026 Candidates: RB Joe Jackson and QB Avery Johnson Previous K-State Candidates Preseason Candidates: RB Darren Sproles (2004), RB John Hubert (2013), WR Tyler Lockett (2014), QB Jesse Ertz (2017), RB Alex Barnes (2018), RB James Gilbert (2019), QB Skylar Thompson (2020), QB Skylar Thompson (2021), RB Deuce Vaughn (2021), QB Adrian Martinez (2022), RB Deuce Vaughn (2022), QB Will Howard (2024), RB DJ Giddens (2024), QB Avery Johnson (2024 and 2025), RB Dylan Edwards (2025) Semifinalists: QB Jake Waters (2014) Finalists: QB Michael Bishop (1998), QB Collin Klein (2012) OUTLAND TROPHY Presented to the nation's most outstanding interior lineman by the Football Writers Association of America 2026 Candidate: OT John Pastore Previous K-State Candidates Preseason Candidates: C Randall Cummins (2000), DT Tank Reese (2002), C Nick Leckey (2003), OT Jeromey Clary (2005), C B.J. Finney (2013 and 2014), OT Cornelius Lucas (2013), OT Cody Whitehair (2014 and 2015), DT Will Geary (2016 and 2017), OL Dalton Risner (2017 and 2018), OL Cooper Beebe (2022), OL KT Leveston (2023), C Sam Hecht (2025) Finalists: OL Cooper Beebe (2023) JOHN MACKEY AWARD Presented to the nation's most outstanding tight end by Friends of John Mackey 2026 Candidate: Garrett Oakley Previous K-State Candidates Preseason Candidates: Brian Casey (2004), Jeron Mastrud (2009), Dayton Valentine (2017), Garrett Oakley (2025) Semifinalists: Ben Sinnott (2023) LOU GROZA AWARD Presented to the nation's top place-kicker by the Palm Beach Sports Commission 2026 Candidate: Luis Rodrigeuz Previous K-State Candidates Preseason Candidates: Brooks Rossman (2007), Jack Cantele (2014), Matthew McCrane (2015), Blake Lynch (2019 and 2020) Semifinalists: Joe Rheem (2004), Anthony Cantele (2012), Matthew McCrane (2017) Runner Up: Martin Gramatica (1998), Jamie Rheem (1999 and 2000) Winner: Martin Gramatica (1997)