PHILADELPHIA (July 9, 2012) -- Texas A&M's Christine Michael and Sean Porter were named to "watch lists" for national college football awards sponsored by the prestigious Maxwell Football Club.

Michael, a senior running back from Beaumont, Texas, was named to the watch list for the Maxwell Award, which has been presented to the nation's outstanding collegiate football player since 1937 and is named in honor of sportswriter Robert W. (Tiny) Maxwell.

Porter, a senior linebacker from Schertz, Texas, is seeking to become Texas A&M's second winner of the Chuck Bednarik Award, which is given annually to the nation's top defensive player. Former A&M linebacker Dat Nguyen won the inaugural Bednarik Award in 1998, in addition to consensus All-America honors and the Lombardi Trophy.

A three-time honorable mention all-conference pick, Michael was well on his way to a 1,000-yard season before suffering a knee injury in game nine of the 2011 season against Oklahoma. Michael rushed for 899 yards and eight touchdowns on 149 carries in the abbreviated season, including a career-high 230 yards and three touchdowns against Arkansas. For his A&M career, Michael has nine 100-yard rushing games, and has gained 2,374 yards on 441 carries with 22 touchdowns. In addition, he owns the longest running play in school history, a 97-yard touchdown romp against Baylor in 2009.

Porter emerged as the Aggies' top defender in 2011 when he earned first-team All-Big 12 honors from the Associated Press. He led the Big 12 in quarterback sacks with 9.5 and also contributed 79 tackles and 17 tackles for loss of yardage last season. Porter, who has started 27 straight games entering 2012, has 195 career tackles, including 28 tackles for losses of 122 yards.