WKU starting quarterback Bailey Zappe and 2020 Conference USA All-First Team defensive lineman DeAngelo Malone were both named to respective preseason award watch lists on Thursday.

Zappe, a grad transfer from Houston Baptist University and a native of Victoria, Texas, was put on the watch list for the 2021 Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award. The honor is given to the overall best NCAA Division I college football athlete to hail from the state of Texas. This is the ninth year the award will be presented and last season’s award was won by Florida quarterback Kyle Trask.

Malone earned a spot on the Rotary Lombardi Preseason Watch List, which features nine other C-USA athletes. The award is given annually to the college football lineman that best exemplifies the character of NFL Hall of Famer Vince Lombardi. The trophy itself is a 40-pound block of Texas pink granite, a nod to Fordham University’s “Seven Blocks of Granite” offensive line that Lombardi played a key part in during his pre-coaching days.

Zappe and Malone will take the field to begin chasing their respective awards against the UT Martin Skyhawks on Sept. 2.

Sports Editor Jake Moore can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @Charles_JMoore.