The Walter Camp Award is an annual college football award presented to the collegiate American football player of the Year. The award is named after Walter Chauncey Camp, known as the "Father of American Football". Presented by the Walter Camp Football Foundation, the candidate for this award is selected by the head coaches of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I FBS.
List of Walter Camp Award Winner Year by Year
The Walter Camp Award started in 1967. O. J. Simpson won the first two Walter Camp Awards in 1967 and 1968. Archie Griffin of Ohio State (1974, 1975) and Colt McCoy (2008, 2009) have won the award twice. Jayden Daniels from the LSU Tigers is the most recent recipient of the Award, as of December 2024. Players from 26 universities have won the Walter Camp, with USC topping the list with seven awards.
| Player Name | Position | Team | Year |
| O. J. Simpson | RB | USC | 1967 |
| O. J. Simpson | RB | USC | 1968 |
| Steve Owens | RB | Oklahoma | 1969 |
| Jim Plunkett | QB | Stanford | 1970 |
| Pat Sullivan | QB | Auburn | 1971 |
| Johnny Rodgers | RB | Nebraska | 1972 |
| John Cappelletti | RB | Penn State | 1973 |
| Archie Griffin | RB | Ohio State | 1974 |
| Archie Griffin | RB | Ohio State | 1975 |
| Tony Dorsett | RB | Pittsburgh | 1976 |
| Ken MacAfee | TE | Notre Dame | 1977 |
| Billy Sims | RB | Oklahoma | 1978 |
| Charles White | RB | USC | 1979 |
| Hugh Green | LB | Pittsburgh | 1980 |
| Marcus Allen | RB | USC | 1981 |
| Herschel Walker | RB | Georgia | 1982 |
| Mike Rozier | RB | Nebraska | 1983 |
| Doug Flutie | QB | Boston College | 1984 |
| Bo Jackson | RB | Auburn | 1985 |
| Vinny Testaverde | QB | Miami | 1986 |
| Tim Brown | WR | Notre Dame | 19887 |
| Barry Sanders | RB | Oklahoma State | 1988 |
| Anthony Thompson | RB | Indiana | 1989 |
| Raghib Ismail | WR | Notre Dame | 1990 |
| Desmond Howard | WR | Michigan | 1991 |
| Gino Torretta | QB | Miami | 1992 |
| Charlie Ward | QB | Florida State | 1993 |
| Rashaan Salaam | RB | Colorado | 1994 |
| Eddie George | RB | Ohio State | 1995 |
| Danny Wuerffel | QB | Florida | 1996 |
| Charles Woodson | CB | Michigan | 1997 |
| Ricky Williams | RB | Texas | 1998 |
| Ron Dayne | RB | Wisconsin | 1999 |
| Josh Heupel | QB | Oklahoma | 2000 |
| Eric Crouch | QB | Nebraska | 2001 |
| Larry Johnson | RB | Penn State | 2002 |
| Larry Fitzgerald | WR | Pittsburgh | 2003 |
| Matt Leinart | QB | USC | 2004 |
| Reggie Bush | RB | USC | 2005 |
| Troy Smith | QB | Ohio State | 2006 |
| Darren McFadden | RB | Arkansas | 2007 |
| Colt McCoy | QB | Texas | 2008 |
| Colt McCoy | QB | Texas | 2009 |
| Cam Newton | QB | Auburn | 2010 |
| Andrew Luck | QB | Stanford | 2011 |
| Manti Te'o | LB | Notre Dame | 2012 |
| Jameis Winston | QB | Florida State | 2013 |
| Marcus Mariota | QB | Oregon | 2014 |
| Derrick Henry | RB | Alabama | 2015 |
| Lamar Jackson | QB | Louisville | 2016 |
| Baker Mayfield | QB | Oklahoma | 2017 |
| Tua Tagovailoa | QB | Alabama | 2018 |
| Joe Burrow | QB | LSU | 2019 |
| DeVonta Smith | WR | Alabama | 2020 |
| Kenneth Walker III | RB | Michigan State | 2021 |
| Caleb Williams | QB | USC | 2022 |
| Jayden Daniels | QB | LSU | 2023 |
FAQs on Walter Camp Award Winners
A. Jayden Daniels from LSU won the Walter Camp Award in 2023.
A. Walter Camp created the scrimmage line, signal-calling, the 11-man team, and quarterback position, as per the National Football Foundation.
A. Walter Camp invented football virtually, based on Britannica.
A. Walter Camp enlisted into the Hall of Fame of College Football in 1951.
A. Walter Camp was 65 years old when he died in 1925.
