Award watch lists aren't the slimmest things in the world, especially in the preseason - there are over 60 "nominees" for all of them, after all - but there's still a certain prestige about getting on them. Two Terps did just that, as the Maxwell and Bednarik Awards, for the best overall and best defensive player in the nation, respectively, released their watch lists today (PDF here), with Danny O'Brien and Kenny Tate finding themselves listed.
Neither are likely legitimate contenders for the big awards, but this probably guarantees that they'll find themselves on the Davey O'Brien (QB, for DOB) and either the Butkus or Thorpe (LB or S, depending on how/what they consider Tate). While DOB will probably still have an uphill battle for that one given his minimal preseason hype, Tate should be a legitimate contender, especially if they consider him a safety.
This is awesome on both counts, of course, and it's a lot better than not being on the list, but I was shocked by just how inclusive these were. Seriously, Mike Glennon is on the Maxwell list. He attempted 13 passes last season.
A few head-scratchers aside (Tyler Wilson, too), it's still pretty cool. It's an outside shot, but hopefully they'll bring home some hardware.