University of Pittsburgh freshman tailback Dion Lewis has been named one of 15 “Players to Watch” for the 2009 Walter Camp Player of the Year Award, it was announced today by the Walter Camp Football Foundation.
Lewis is the only freshman on the Walter Camp list and one of just four running backs. The list will be pared down to five finalists on December 2, with the 2009 winner announced on December 10 during the 6 p.m. edition of ESPN SportsCenter.
Pitt boasts three previous winners of the Walter Camp Player of the Year Award, including running back Tony Dorsett (1976), defensive end Hugh Green (1980) and receiver Larry Fitzgerald (2003).
This is the latest recognition for Lewis (Albany, N.Y./Blair Academy [N.J.]), who is also a semifinalist for the Doak Walker Award (nation’s top running back) and Maxwell College Football Player of the Year Award.
The 5-foot-8, 195-pound freshman is also poised to become the first player since Virginia Tech quarterback Michael Vick in 1999 to be selected the Big East’s Offensive Player of the Year and Rookie of the Year in the same season.
Lewis is first in the Big East and sixth nationally in rushing yards per game (129.1 avg.). Overall he has 1,291 rushing yards and 13 touchdowns on 224 carries (5.8 avg.). He has scored 14 total TDs on the year.
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