COLUMBIA, Mo. – Summer is winding down, and it is pre-season watch list time for college football award organizations. Front and center for Mizzou is a pair of prominent players in the first batch of lists released today, as sophomore RB Damarea Crockett (Little Rock, Ark.) and senior DE Marcell Frazier (Portland, Ore.) have been named to the 2017 pre-season watch lists for the Maxwell and Bednarik awards, respectively.
Crockett ?#Mizzou sophomore RB @DamareaCrockett lands on @TheMaxwellAward Watch Listhttps://t.co/q4B12WWWKL#MIZ #ShowMe ?? pic.twitter.com/8khiRRzt3e
— Mizzou Football (@MizzouFootball) July 10, 2017
Crockett burst onto the scene in 2016 as a true freshman and developed into one of the top ball carriers in the vaunted Southeastern Conference, as he rushed for an MU freshman-record 1,062 yards and 10 touchdowns. Crockett finished the regular season with a per-game rushing average of 96.5 yards, which was the nation’s top mark among freshmen. His signature game was a 225-yard, one-touchdown game at Tennessee where he broke the program’s freshman single-game rushing record. He also had 100-yard outings four other times, including games against Middle Tennessee (156 yards, 4 TDs), Vanderbilt (154 yards, 1 TD), at Florida (145 yards) and against Delaware State (115 yards, 2 TDs). His four-score game against Middle Tennessee tied Mizzou’s single-game scoring record.
The Maxwell Award, named in honor of Robert W. “Tiny” Maxwell, has been given to America’s College Player of the Year since 1937. Maxwell’s contributions to the game of football were extensive, including time as a player, a sportswriter and an official. The Bednarik Award has been presented to the College Defensive Player of the Year since 1995. Chuck Bednarik, former standout at Penn and with the Philadelphia Eagles, is a member of both the College Football Hall of Fame’s Class of ’69 and the NFL Hall of Fame’s Class of ’67.
Marcell ?#Mizzou senior DE @FederalFrazier lands on @BednarikAward Watch List https://t.co/q4B12WWWKL#MIZ #ShowMe ?? pic.twitter.com/fXOTtQbYQh
— Mizzou Football (@MizzouFootball) July 10, 2017
Frazier closed 2016 in strong fashion, and looks to be next in the long line of game-changing rush ends for the #DLineZou tradition. Frazier was named the SEC Defensive Lineman of the Week on Nov. 28 after sparking Mizzou’s defense in a 28-24 comeback win over Arkansas (Nov. 25), as he ended that game with three quarterback sacks (35 yards) and a quarterback pressure, as part of his four-tackle day. For the season, Frazier totaled 33 tackles in 12 games (five starts) and was second on the team with his 8.5 tackles for loss and 7.5 quarterback sacks. He also led the Tiger defense in 2016 with two fumble recoveries.
