MADISON, Wis. — Chalk up two more University of Wisconsin football players to preseason watch lists for major college football awards.
The latest Badgers to make the cut are junior center Travis Frederick and junior tight end Jacob Pedersen. On Tuesday, Frederick was named to the watch list for the Rimington Trophy, presented annually to the most outstanding center in college football. Pedersen is a candidate for the John Mackey Award, given to the nation's best tight end.
The honors came one day after running back Montee Ball (Maxwell Award) and linebacker Chris Borland (Bednarik Award) were placed on preseason watch lists.
Frederick started 13 games for the Badgers last season, including 11 at left guard and two at center while filling in for injured teammate Peter Konz. Frederick will take over full-time for Konz, who was selected by the Atlanta Falcons in the second-round of the NFL draft.
The 6-foot-4, 328-pound Frederick was a consensus second-team All-Big Ten selection last season. He became the first true freshman in school history to start a season-opener on the offensive line when he served as Wisconsin's center against Northern Illinois in 2009.
Frederick, a Sharon, Wis., native, is among six Big Ten players on the 51-player Rimington Trophy watch list. The award is named for Dave Rimington, a consensus All-America center at Nebraska in 1981 and 1982.
Pedersen was a semifinalist for the Mackey Award last season after grabbing eight touchdown passes and 30 overall catches for 356 yards. The Menominee, Mich., native has played in 27 career games.
He became the third UW player to reach the semifinalist cut for the Mackey Award in the past six seasons, joining 2010 finalist Lance Kendricks and 2007 finalist Travis Beckum, who also was a semifinalist in 2006.
Six Big Ten players are included on the 33-person Mackey Award watch list. Wisconsin has placed a tight end on the Mackey Award preseason list in five of the past six seasons.
The winners of both awards will be announced Dec. 6.
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