Meanwhile, Montgomery also is one of 47 players named to the 2014 Paul Hornung Award Watch List. The award honors the most versatile player in major college football.

The Rimington Trophy is awarded to the most outstanding center in Division I football. The winner of the Rimington Trophy will be selected by determining the consensus All-American center pick from three All-America Teams -- the Walter Camp Football Foundation, Sporting News and the Football Writers Association of America.

Junior offensive center Graham Shuler also has been named to the Rimington Award Watch List. Shuler is one of 66 players named to the list and one of six from the Pac-12 Conference.

Four players -- Henry Anderson, Alex Carter, Jordan Richards and A.J. Tarpley -- were named to the watch list for the Bednarik Award while two other players -- Kevin Hogan and Ty Montgomery -- were named to the Maxwell Award Watch List.

Stanford's first football game isn't until Aug. 30, but the preseason honors are already beginning to pile up for the Cardinal.

The Bednarik Award has been presented to the College Defensive Player of the Year since 1995. Chuck Bednarik, former standout at Penn and with the Philadelphia Eagles, is a member of both the College Football Hall of Fame's Class of '69 and the NFL Hall of Fame's Class of '67.

The Maxwell Award, named in honor of Robert W. "Tiny" Maxwell, has been given to America's College Player of the Year since 1937. Maxwell's contributions to the game of football were extensive, including as a player, a sportswriter and an official.

Montgomery was the only player on a BCS conference team with two kickoff returns for a touchdown. He finished ninth nationally in all-purpose yards (157.7/game) in 2013, with 2,208 all-purpose yards. The team's leading pass catcher in 13 of its 14 games of 2013, Montgomery caught 61 passes for 958 yards (15.7 yards per reception) with 10 touchdowns. He was earlier named preseason All-American at specialist by Athlon.

Montgomery is likely to dot all eligible preseason watch lists after the speedy wide receiver and kickoff returner finished second nationally in kickoff return average (30.3) in 2013.

The Louisville Sports Commission successfully launched the Paul Hornung Award in 2010 to honor its namesake and native son and to promote outstanding performances by versatile college football players who often go unnoticed. Owen Marecic of Stanford, a two-way starter and All-Pac-10 performer at fullback and linebacker, won the inaugural Paul Hornung Award in 2010.

The winners of the 2014 Maxwell and Bednarik Awards will be announced as part of the Home Depot College Football Awards Show held on Dec. 11. The formal presentations of these awards will be made at the Maxwell Football Club Awards Gala in Atlantic City on March 6, 2015.

Semifinalists for the Maxwell and Bednarik Awards will be announced Nov. 3, while the three finalists for each award will be unveiled Nov. 24.

Stanford football players begin accumulating honors