2018 Preseason Award Projections: Jet Award

By Charlie Campbell
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Heading into the 2018 college football season, WalterFootball.com will debut our projections for the nation’s leaders during the fall. The All-American teams always have some surprises, and the next fall’s stars could be the headline players next April for the 2019 NFL Draft. We also will project the winners of the postseason awards that are given out to the best of college football.

The Jet Award is given to the best returner in college football. Last year’s winner was Washington’s Dante Pettis.

Jet Award Winner:

Avery Williams, CB, Boise State

Avery Williams broke out for the Broncos in 2017. Defensively, the redshirt freshman had a very solid season with 45 tackles, eight passes broken up and two interceptions. On special teams, he was one of the top returners in the nation and led the Mountain West conference with a 11.2 yards-per-punt return average and two touchdowns. He also averaged 25 yards per kick return. If Williams continues to be a dynamic returner and can add some kick-return touchdowns to go along with his punt-return touchdowns, I think he could end up winning the Jet Award in 2018.




Jet Award Runner-Up:

Mecole Hardman, WR, Georgia

Hardman was a jack-of-all-trades for the Bulldogs in 2017. As a wide receiver, he caught 25 passes for 418 yards and four touchdowns, plus toted two rushing touchdowns. On special teams, he was eighth in the nation with an average of 11.8 yards per punt return and an average of 25.3 yards per kick return. What makes Hardman more of a runner-up is the lack of touchdowns as a returner. However with his good averages, the touchdowns could come in 2018, and those could make him a top contender for the Jet Award.




Jet Award Dark Horse:

Deebo Samuel, WR, South Carolina

Samuel is an electric play-maker with the speed to take any reception, carry, or return to the end zone. He only played a few games last year and made just two kickoff returns, but he returned both for touchdowns and a total of 194 yards. The previous year, he averaged 25.4 yards per kick return and notched one return touchdown. If Samuel returns punts and kicks in 2018, he could easily win the Jet Award due to his play-making ability. However after suffering a season-ending injury early in 2017, it would not be surprising if South Carolina protects its play-maker by saving him for offense and haves someone else handle returning punts and kicks. Samuel may only return select kicks and not do it routinely. Thus, Samuel is more of a dark horse for the Jet Award despite his immense talent.

Honorable Mentions: Penn State WR Deandre Thompkins, Alabama CB Trevon Diggs, Boston College WR Michael Walker, Florida State WR D.J. Matthews, Texas WR Reggie Hemphill-Mapps, Utah State WR Jordan Nathan, Memphis WR Tony Pollard, Troy CB Marcus Jones, Virginia WR Joe Reed and New Mexico State RB Jason Huntley.











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