Keeton among trio of Aggies named to preseason watch lists Tuesday


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LOGAN — Going into the 2015 season, Utah State didn’t know if it would have Chuckie Keeton at quarterback, so putting him on the field is a welcome surprise for the Aggies.

He could do more than just be on the field.

Keeton was one of 80 players named as a candidate for the Maxwell Award, and was one of three Aggies to earn watch-list honors Tuesday morning by the Maxwell Football Club. The redshirt senior joins linebackers Nick Vigil and Kyler Fackrell on the Chuck Bednarik Award watch list.

Keeton, who was among the 30 quarterbacks included along with BYU senior Taysom Hill, returns to the Aggies for a fifth season after missing all but three games of the 2014 campaign. The senior from Houston has suffered two season-ending knee injuries in his previous four years at Utah State.

The award, named for Robert W. “Tiny” Maxwell, has been given to the most outstanding player of the college football season since 1937.

Among the national frontrunners for the award are returning Maxwell finalist and Mississippi State quarterback Dax Prescott, TCU quarterback Trevone Boykin and three Ohio State quarterbacks in Cardale Jones, J.T. Barrett and Braxton Miller.

Keeton threw for 426 yards, two touchdowns and four interceptions in 2014 and added 81 yards and a touchdown on the ground before his injury. The veteran signal-caller is making his third appearance on the Maxwell watch list.

Vigil, a junior from Plain City, Utah, and Fackrell, a senior from Mesa, Arizona, are two of the four players from the Mountain West Conference named to the Bednarik Award watch list — an honor given to the nation’s most outstanding defensive player. Fackrell is on the watch list for the second time of his career, joining last season’s honor before suffering a season-ending knee injury in the Aggies’ opener at Tennessee.

Boise State defensive end Kamalei Correa and safety Darrian Thompson join Fackrell and Vigil on the watch list, as well as BYU defensive end Bronson Kaufusi and Utah linebacker Jared Norris.

National highlights of the 80-player Bednarik Award watch list include Arizona linebacker Scooby Wright and Ohio State defensive Joey Bosa, who finished second in the voting a year ago.

Semifinalists for both awards will be announced Nov. 2, leading to the unveiling of three finalists Nov. 23.

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