Jordan Whitehead named to Jim Thorpe Award Preseason Watch List

Pitt safety Jordan Whitehead continues racking up preseason recognition. On Monday, it was the Jim Thorpe Award nominating the sophomore to their early watch list. The Thorpe Award is given annually to college football's top defensive back.

That Whitehead was nominated for the watch list is hardly a surprise. The Thorpe Award is only for defensive backs and Whitehead was already added to watch lists for the Bednarik Award and the Nagurski Award - both given to the top defensive player overall. And if you needed a little history, Pitt's Aaron Donald won both of those when he cleaned house back in 2013.

Obviously Whitehead should have a much more realistic shot to win this award limited to only defensive backs. Even for this he's still likely to be considered a long shot of sorts, but it's much easier for him to only compete against players in his unit. But whether he's in contention late or not, it's still incredible for him as a freshman to be nominated for these types of awards this early in his career.

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