Marshall University Athletics
Carlos Del Rio-Wilson Named To 2026 Walter Camp Player of Year Watch List
8/17/2026 12:00:00 PM | Football
Herd QB one of 50 players nationally, lone SBC representative named as ‘one to watch’ for top player in college football
2026 Marshall Football Tickets
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – Marshall fifth-year quarterback Carlos Del Rio-Wilson was named to the 2026 Walter Camp Player of the Year Watch List on Monday.
Del Rio-Wilson is one of only 50 players nationally and the lone Sun Belt Conference representative named as 'one to watch' for the nation's fourth-oldest individual college football accolade, which is given annually to the best player in college football.
"Carlos' impact in the 2025 season as one of the nation's best dual-threat quarterbacks was realized, and it's great to see him be on the national radar coming into the 2026 season," Marshall head coach Tony Gibson said. "With accolades come expectations, and he's working hard in practice each day to make sure he improves each day and makes us a better football team."
The latest accolade is the continuation of an offseason full of them for Del Rio-Wilson, who has already been named to the Maxwell Award Watch List, an Allstate AFCA Good Works Team nominee, the Allstate Wuerffel Trophy Watch List and as the 2026 Sun Belt Conference Preseason Offensive Player of the Year.
Del Rio-Wilson also was named as a Preseason All-SBC First Team selection by the league's coaches, Phil Steele Publications and Athlon Sports.
The Atlanta, Ga., native comes into 2026 in elite company statistically, joining Auburn's Byrum Brown as the only two returning FBS quarterbacks to throw for 2,000 yards, complete 65 percent of passes and rush for 600 yards in the 2025 season.
Those numbers in the 2025 season helped Del Rio-Wilson become a multi-time recipient of a pair of weekly awards - the Davey O'Brien "Great 8" and the Manning Award "Stars of the Week", which are both given to the nation's top quarterbacks for a week during the season. He was one of only eight quarterbacks in the nation to win multiple awards in both.
Del Rio-Wilson leads all returning Sun Belt Conference players in passing yards (2,043) and rushing yards per game (60.1) after a successful season that saw him amass 2,704 yards of offensive for the Herd.
The 6-4, 225-pound dual-threat quarterback finished 171 of 256 passing for 2,043 yards with 17 touchdowns and only five interceptions in 2025 while rushing for another 661 yards and six scores.
His 661 rushing yards broke Marshall's single-season record for rushing yards by a quarterback – a record that stood for 43 years.
The Walter Camp Player of the Year Award list will be narrowed to 10 semifinalists in early November and three finalists will be announced in early December. The 2026 Walter Camp Player of the Year recipient, which is voted on by 138 NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision head coaches and sports information directors, will be announced in the second week of December.
About The Walter Camp Foundation
Considered the "Father of American Football," Walter Camp introduced the play from scrimmage, set plays, the numerical assessment of goals and tries and the restriction of play to 11 men per side in 1880. Nine years later, Mr. Camp – then the Yale University head coach – selected the first-ever college football All-America Team. The Walter Camp Football Foundation was founded in 1967 to perpetuate the ideals of Camp and to continue the tradition of selecting annually an All-America team. Visit www.waltercamp.org for more information.
The Walter Camp Foundation is a member of the National College Football Awards Association (NCFAA), which encompasses college football's most prestigious awards. The NCFAA's 25 awards have honored nearly 1,000 recipients since 1935. This season, 12 NCFAA Awards will honor national players of the week each Tuesday.
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