Kolby Harvell-Peel One of 24 Players on Nagurski, Thorpe and Bednarik Lists

If there is an award a defensive back can win in 2020, odds are Kolby Harvell-Peel is on its watch list.

Harvell-Peel, a junior at Oklahoma State, was named on the Bronco Nagurski Award watch list that released Tuesday. He was one of 98 players on that list. Twelve of those players reside in the Big 12.

It’s the third major watch list Harvell-Peel has popped up on the past few weeks, as he also made the lists for the Thorpe Award and the Bednarik Award. Only 24 players from across the country made all three lists.

Here is what each award is for:

Nagurski: national defensive player of the year
Bednarik: most outstanding defensive player in college football
Thorpe: nation’s best defensive back

Of the 24 players who made all three lists, only three play in the Big 12: Harvell-Peel, Iowa State’s Greg Eisworth and Texas’ Caden Sterns (oh, what could have been).

Harvell-Peel came to OSU as the No. 969 recruit in the 2018 class out of College Station, Texas. At A&M Consolidated High School, he played for Lee Fedora, brother of former OSU offensive coordinator Larry Fedora. Harvell-Peel’s high school ranking didn’t mean much when he got to campus.

He played in all 13 of OSU’s games in his true freshman season, starting four. He had 52 total tackles and 5.5 tackles for loss.

Harvell-Peel was all over the place for the Cowboys in 2019, his sophomore season. Playing in 12 games, he finished third on the team in tackles with 71, three of which were tackles for loss. He also had a nose for the football, leading the team with five interceptions, 13 pass breakups, two forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries.