By Do-Hyoung Park on July 12, 2013

As the first game of the season draws nearer, the Cardinal continues to attract national attention through its strong representation in the preseason college football award watch lists. Only a few days removed from five Cardinal players being named to the Bednarik and Maxwell watch lists, four more watch lists recognized nine more of the boys from The Farm.

Senior free safety Ed Reynolds joined the fifth-year senior trio of linebackers Shayne Skov and Trent Murphy and defensive end Ben Gardner on the watch list for the Bronko Nagurski Trophy, which is awarded annually by the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) to the best defensive player in college football.

Stanford’s four representatives on the Nagurski watch list are tops in the nation, tied with defending national champion and perennial powerhouse Alabama.

For Skov, Murphy, and Gardner, the Nagurski list represents the second such honor in less than a week, as all three were also recently named to the Bednarik list.

Reynolds, who led all of college football during the 2012 season with 301 interception return yards (just one yard shy of the all-time record), was also named to the watch list for the Jim Thorpe Award with junior strong safety Jordan Richards. The Thorpe Award is annually awarded to the best defensive back in college football.

On the other side of the ball, three members of Stanford’s powerful offensive line were named to the watch list for the Outland Trophy, which is awarded to the nation’s best interior lineman by the FWAA. Included were fifth-year senior guard Kevin Danser, senior tackle Cameron Fleming and senior guard David Yankey. The three linemen are expected to be key pieces in an offensive line considered by many to be the best in the country.

Sophomore tight end Luke Kaumatule was named to the watch list for the John Mackey Award, given to the top tight end in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). The highly touted Kaumatule is expected to fill some big shoes after the departures of tight ends Zach Ertz and Levine Toilolo to the National Football League.