Former Wildcats named to national watch lists

Former Enterprise High School football stars Marcus Jones and Dylan Bradshaw were both named to national award watch lists last week. Jones was named to the Chuck Bednarick Award Watch List and Jim Thorpe Award Watch List and Bradshaw was selected to the Rimington Trophy Watch List.

The Remington Trophy is awarded every year to the nation’s top center. The watch list features the 40 top centers in the country, according to Pro Football Focus (PFF).

Bradshaw was an all-state offensive guard at Enterprise before heading to play his college career at Troy. Bradshaw had an extremely successful 2020 season that saw him rank 15th nationally at the center position, according to PFF. He allowed only one sack and one penalty all year in 513 passing situations, while starting all 11 games. He’s also a two-time All-Sun Belt selection for the past two years.

The Bednarick Award is presented annually to the nation’s top defensive player. The national watch list is comprised of the top 90 defensive players in the country, according to the Maxwell Football Club. The Thorpe Award is presented annually to the nation’s top defensive back.

Jones was an all-state cornerback and kick returner at Enterprise before beginning his college career at Troy, where he earned Freshman All-American honors in 2017 and All-American honors in 2018. Jones transferred to Houston going into the 2019 season but was forced to sit out the season due to transfer rules and returned to the field in 2020.

In 2020, Jones finished with 24 tackles, two tackles-for-loss, one interception and five pass breakups in seven games. He also led the nation in punt return yards and touchdowns and earned All-American honors as a punt returner.

So far this preseason, Jones has been selected as the top collegiate defensive back in Texas by Dave Campbell’s Texas Football Magazine, and has been selected preseason All-American by Phil Steele Magazine, Athlon Sports and the Walter Camp Foundation.

Jones and Bradshaw not only played together at Enterprise but also played together for two seasons at Troy before Jones transferred to Houston.

Bradshaw’s Troy teammate Carlton Martial was also named to the Bednarick Award Watch List. Martial comes into his junior season as one of the top returning linebackers in the country. In 2020, Martial led the entire country in tackles with 113 and has totaled 239 tackles since the 2019 season.

Martial was also recently rated as the No. 41 player in the country by Pro Football Focus and he is a two-time All-Sun Belt First Team player.