TYLER, Texas -Â North Texas receiver
Jaelon Darden was named to the watch list for the eighth annual Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award, the committee announced Wednesday.
The Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award recognizes the top offensive player in Division I football who also exhibits the enduring characteristics that define Earl Campbell: integrity, performance, teamwork, sportsmanship, drive, community and tenacity; specifically, tenacity to persist and determination to overcome adversity and injury in pursuit of reaching goals. In addition, the nominee must meet one or more of the following criteria: born in Texas and/or graduated from a Texas High School and/or played at a Texas-based junior college or four-year college.
The Watch List will be narrowed to up to 16 semifinalists and then up to 5 finalists. Â They will be selected by broadcasters, commentators, journalists, fans, and previous winners. A winner will be announced at the end of this year's football season.
For the full list of players included on the 2020 watch list, click here.
Darden, a preseason all-conference selection and 2019 first team all-conference selection by the league's 14 head coaches, led the Mean Green in every major receiving category and was among the nation's most productive receivers. He finished with 76 receptions for 736 yards and 12 touchdowns. His 12 receiving scores ranked 12
th in FBS (his 12 touchdowns were three more than anyone else in the conference), and he ranked 21
st in the country in receptions per game (6.3). Darden tied for the most three-touchdown games by any receiver in the country with two. Darden is fourth in program history in single season receiving touchdowns and his 76 catches tied for fifth-most in a single season in program history (John Love, 1965). Darden concluded his junior season with 156 career catches, which ranks sixth in program history, and his 19 career touchdowns are seventh in program history. An explosive talent from the slot, Darden enters 2020 as one of two seniors among a deep receiving corps and will look to continue to build on his fantastic career in Denton. Darden is also a team captain and member of the team's leadership committee.
