12 G5 Football Players Named Candidates For Comeback Player of the Year

College Sports Communicators in association with The Associated Press (AP) and Fiesta Sports Foundation, on Tuesday released a “Watch List” of 75 college football players from 51 different schools currently under consideration for the 2025 Comeback Player of the Year Award.

Three players will be honored as Comeback Player of the Year Award winners at the Vrbo Fiesta Bowl at the end of the season. 12 players from the watch list come from Group of Five teams.

Here's who the list includes:

American

Navy junior safety Seth English hopes to bounce back in 2025 after missing the entire 2024 season with a knee injury. The rising junior has yet to see the field with Navy.

Gabe Blair, entering his fifth season as an interior offensive lineman with North Texas, missed most of the season with an injury, but did manage to return for UNT's bowl game against Texas State.

Byrum Brown enters 2025 with higher expectations than most G5 quarterbacks. Brown missed the second half of South Florida's 2024 season after scoring 37 touchdowns in 2023.

Conference USA

Liberty defensive back Christian Bodnar played in Liberty's first five games last season, but missed the rest of the season with post-infectious encephalitis. He appeared set for a decent campaign with an interception, two pass breakups, 13 tackles, a forced fumble, a sack, and 2.5 tackles for loss.

Mid-American Conference

Kent State quarterback CJ Montes enters his first season with the Golden Flashes after appearing in only three games for Fordham last season. Montes was a Walter Payton Award finalist in 2023 after throwing for 3,000 yards with 26 touchdowns and just one interception.

Toledo running back Chip Trayanum enters the 2025 season with his fourth college team. He spent last season at Kentucky, where he appeared in three games with 19 total carries for 101 yards. Prior to that, the former four-star recruit had successful two-year stints with Arizona State and Ohio State.

Mountain West

Boise State running back Sire Gaines appeared in three games last season for the Broncos, totaling 156 yards and one touchdown on 20 rushes. He added three receptions for 44 yards and one touchdown before suffering a season-ending injury in a game against the Portland State Vikings.

Fresno State defensive back Camryn Bracha, a former junior college star at Fresno City College, missed most of last season with an injury, but not before he posted 19 tackles, a TFL, three pass breakups and an interception. That included 10 tackles in a game at Michigan.

Josiah Freeman, Fresno State's second representative on the list, posted eight receptions for 95 yards and two touchdowns last season before a season-ending injury in the fourth game of the year.

Sun Belt

Javon Campbell appeared in seven games for ULM in 2024 with eight receptions for 176 yards and one touchdown. The former Dodge Community College star missed the rest of the season with an injury.

Ja’Den McBurrows joins Appalachian State's secondary after four seasons at Michigan, where he appeared in just 19 games due to a series of injuries. 11 of those games came during Michigan's national championship season in 2023.

Troy quarterback Goose Crowder began the 2024 season as Gerad Parker's starter, but was sidelined for the year after four games due to injury. He threw for 542 yards with five touchdown passes and one rushing score.

2025 Comeback Player of the Year Preseason Watch List

Seth English - Navy - S
Gabe Blair - North Texas - OL
Byrum Brown - South Florida - QB
Alex Broome - Boston College - RB
Bryce Steele - Boston College - LB
Jaylin Lucas - Florida State - RB
Caullin Lacy - Louisville - WR
Carson Beck - Miami - QB
Mohamed Toure - Miami - LB
Max Johnson - North Carolina - QB
Caden Fordham - NC State - LB
RJ Maryland - SMU - TE
Will Nixon - Syracuse - RB
Antonio Clary - Virginia - S
Tucker Holloway - Virginia Tech - WR/KR
Kemari Copeland - Virginia Tech - DL
Cole Rusk - Illinois - TE
Kaden Feagin - Illinois - RB
Drew Evans - Indiana - OG
E.J. Williams - Indiana - WR
Rod Moore - Michigan - S
Armorion Smith - Michigan State - DB
Zuriah Fisher - Penn State - DE
Gary Smith III - UCLA - DL
Hudson Habermehl - UCLA - TE
Anthony Lucas - USC - DE
Quentin Moore - Washington - TE
Zach Durfee - Washington - EDGE
Mason Reiger - Wisconsin - LB
Conner Weigman - Houston - QB
Corey Platt Jr - Houston - LB
Caleb Bacon - Iowa State - LB
Vernon Glover - TCU - CB
Cole Wisniewski - Texas Tech - S
Cam Fancher - UCF - QB
John Walker - UCF - DT
Levani Damuni - Utah - LB
Michael Mokofisi - Utah - OL
Edward Vesterinen - West Virginia - DL
Jaden Bray - West Virginia - WR
Treydan Stukes - Arizona - CB
Christian Bodnar - Liberty - CB
Boubacar Traore - Notre Dame - DL
Charles Jagusah - Notre Dame - OL
Gi'Bran Payne - Notre Dame - RB
CJ Montes - Kent State - QB
Chip Trayanum - Toledo - RB
Sire Gaines - Boise State - RB
Camryn Bracha - Fresno State - S
Josiah Freeman - Fresno State - WR
Dylan Black - Oregon State - LS
Noble Thomas Jr - Oregon State - DB
Kobe Singleton - Oregon State - DB
Deontae Lawson - Alabama - LB
Keon Sabb - Alabama - DB
Champ Anthony - Auburn - DB
Aaron Gates - Florida - DB
Eugene Wilson III - Florida - WR
Jamari Lyons - Florida - DL
Brett Thorson - Georgia - P
Josaih Hayes - Kentucky - DL
Tavion Gadson - Kentucky - DL
Harold Perkins Jr - LSU - LB
Jacobian Guillory II - LSU - DL
Whit Weeks - LSU - LB
Blake Shapen - Mississippi State - QB
Connor Tollison - Missouri - OL
Jayden Gibson - Oklahoma - WR
Christian Clark - Texas - RB
C.J. Baxter - Texas - RB
Le'Veon Moss - Texas A&M - RB
Rueben Owens II - Texas A&M - RB
Javon Campbell - ULM - WR
Ja'Den McBurrows - Appalachian State - DB
Goose Crowder - Troy - QB

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