Football | 9/10/2026 5:08:00 PM
ANNAPOLIS, Md.—Navy senior quarterback
Braxton Woodson has been named to the 2026 Jason Witten Award Watch List.
Nominated by their schools, the members of the watch list have all demonstrated a record of leadership by exhibiting exceptional courage, integrity and sportsmanship both on and off the field.
Twenty semifinalists will be selected by a subset of the Jason Witten Collegiate Man of the Year Selection Committee and announced Tuesday, Oct. 13. Three finalists will then be named for the award Monday, Dec. 14. The winner will be announced at the award ceremony, which will take place in the spring of 2027.
Texas Tech's Jacob Rodriguez won the award last year.
The award, presented by Albertsons and Tom Thumb, is the first college football honor to focus primarily on a player's leadership, both on and off the field. Leadership is a term synonymous with Jason Witten, who, in addition to becoming one of the best tight ends in the history of the sport, served as one of football's most prominent role models during his 16-year pro career. In addition to winning the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award in 2012, Witten also received the Bart Starr Award,
Pro Football Weekly's Humanitarian of the Year Award, Home Depot NFL Neighborhood MVP and the Bob Lilly Award, among many others. All of those honors have recognized his work in the community, achievements on the field and dedication to his teammates and family.
"It is an incredible honor to announce this group of young men as the watch list for the Collegiate Man of the Year," said Witten. "These student-athletes have all demonstrated exceptional leadership, often in the face of adversity, and are perfect examples of what the sport of college football is all about."
The winner of the Jason Witten Collegiate Man of the Year will also receive a $10,000 contribution in his name to his school's athletic scholarship fund. The contribution will be made by Jason Witten's SCORE Foundation, the official charity of Jason and his wife, Michelle. The SCORE Foundation, founded in 2007, has positively impacted tens of thousands of children and families in Texas and Tennessee over the last 19 years. The foundation operates its nationally recognized SCOREkeepers program, which places trained male mentors on staff to work with children at family violence shelters, at nine shelters in the two states.
Woodson, who was voted by his teammates as a co-captain along with safety
Giuseppe Sessi, rushed for a career-high 200 yards and three touchdowns as Navy amassed 506 yards on the ground in its 42-15 season-opening victory over Towson before 32,654 fans at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium.
Woodson carried the ball 23 times and averaged 8.7 yards per carry, scoring on runs of 38, eight and four yards. His 200 rushing yards were the most by a Navy player since
Blake Horvath rushed for 211 yards against Memphis on Sept. 21, 2024.
Navy's 506 rushing yards on 73 carries were the 12th most in school history and the most since the Mids rushed for 559 yards against SMU on Nov. 11, 2017. The 73 rushing attempts tied for the eighth most in school history and were the most by Navy since 2022.
Navy finished with 527 yards of total offense and 30 first downs, its most first downs since recording 32 against SMU in 2022.
Navy (1-0) travels to Boca Raton for a Saturday night matchup against Florida Atlantic (0-1). Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. The game will be televised by ESPNU and carried on the Navy Radio Network.
