23 Finalists Announced for The Home Depot College Football Awards

Of the 23 Award Finalists Revealed 17 Programs Represented; Donald, Manziel, McCarron and Winston Lead in Nominations

The Home Depot College Football Awards, now in its 23rd year, will once again air on ESPN, Thursday, Dec. 12, at 7p.m. ET, highlighting the achievements of college football student-athletes in 2013. Twenty-three players were selected as finalists today for the nine National College Football Awards Association (NCFAA) awards given annually during the show. ESPNU will feature the below nominees during The Home Depot College Football Awards Nomination Special on Tuesday, Nov. 26 at 5:30 p.m.

The 30-minute show, hosted by Anish Shroff, will include player interviews and analysis from college football analyst Charles Arbuckle surrounding the finalists, which represent 17 teams. Texas A&M and Florida State lead schools in nominations having four and three players nominated, respectively. Aaron Donald (Pittsburgh), Johnny Manziel (Texas A&M), AJ McCarron (Alabama) and Jameis Winston (Florida State) are each finalists for two awards.

THE HOME DEPOT COLLEGE FOOTBALL AWARDS FINALISTS - (listed alphabetically)

Chuck Bednarik Award
College Defensive Player of the Year
Anthony Barr (UCLA)
Aaron Donald (Pittsburgh)
C.J. Mosley (Alabama)

Biletnikoff Award
Nation's Outstanding College Receiver
Brandin Cooks (Oregon State)
Mike Evans (Texas A&M)
Sammy Watkins (Clemson)

Lou Groza Collegiate Place-Kicker Award
Nation's Outstanding Placekicker
Roberto Aguayo (Florida State)
Anthony Fera (Texas)
Marvin Kloss (South Florida)

Ray Guy Award
College Punter of the Year
Tom Hornsey (Memphis)
Drew Kaser (Texas A&M)
Cody Webster (Purdue)

Maxwell Award
College Player of the Year
Johnny Manziel (Texas A&M)
AJ McCarron (Alabama)
Jameis Winston (Florida State)

Davey O'Brien National Quarterback Award
Nation's Best Quarterback
Johnny Manziel (Texas A&M)*
AJ McCarron (Alabama)
Jameis Winston (Florida State)

Outland Trophy
Nation's Most Outstanding
Interior Lineman Aaron Donald (Pittsburgh)
Jake Matthews (Texas A&M)
Cyril Richardson (Baylor)

Jim Thorpe Award
Nation's Best
Defensive Back Darqueze Dennard (Michigan State)
Justin Gilbert (Oklahoma State)
Lamarcus Joyner (Florida State)

Doak Walker Award
Nation's Premier
Running Back Ka'Deem Carey (Arizona)
Bishop Sankey (Washington)
Andre Williams (Boston College)

*2012 award winner

Additionally, the John Mackey Award (Outstanding Tight End) and the Rimington Award (Outstanding Center) will be presented during The Cree Lighting Red Carpet Show at the Home Depot College Football Awards. Eric Ebron (North Carolina), Nick O'Leary (Florida State) and Austin Seferian-Jenkins (Washington) are finalists for the John Mackey Award. The Rimington finalists will be announced on Monday, Dec. 9.

The Disney Spirit Award and the Home Depot College Football Coach of the Year Award will also be featured in the December show. Disney Sports announced Friday that Tulane's Devon Walker, former Green Wave starting safety and team captain who continues to inspire from the sidelines following a spinal injury, will be the recipient of the Disney Spirit award this year.

2013 The Home Depot College Football Awards Highlights

The 23rd annual awards show - hosted by ESPN's Chris Fowler, Lee Corso, Kirk Herbstreit, Desmond Howard, Tom Rinaldi and Samantha Ponder - will originate from the Atlantic Dance Hall at Disney's BoardWalk at the Walt Disney World Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Fla.

· CFB Daily, ESPNU's daily college football show hosted by Dari Nowkhah will air from the Boardwalk on Thursday, Dec. 12 from 1-4 p.m.

· College Football Live will air from the red carpet at 5p.m. on ESPN2 and 5:30 p.m. on ESPNU. Host Dari Nowkhah will be joined by college football analysts' Jesse Palmer and David Pollack.

· The Cree Lighting Red Carpet Show at the Home Depot College Football Awards - hosted by Nowkhah, Ponder and Rinaldi - will air at 6p.m. on ESPNU. The red carpet hosts will return after the show at 9 p.m. for The Home Depot College Football Awards: Recap Special.

· The Home Depot College Football Awards will also feature the live presentation of the NCFAA (National College Football Awards Association) Contribution to College Football Award; The Home Depot Coach of the Year Award; The Allstate AFCA Good Works Team; the Disney Spirit Award; the student-athletes selected to the Walter Camp All-America Team; and Play of the Year as voted on live by viewers. It will air on ESPN Thursday, Dec. 12 at 7 p.m.

· New for 2013, members of University of Central Florida's band, the UCF Marching Knights, will add some game day atmosphere to the show.

· Viewers can also follow and engage on Twitter using #CFBAwards for news, opinion and behind-the-scenes extras during and leading up to this year's award show.

National College Football Awards Association (NCFAA)

The NCFAA encompasses the most prestigious awards in college football. The 21 awards boast 678 years of tradition-selection excellence. Visit www.NCFAA.org to learn more about our story.