2015 PreSeason Maxwell & Bednarik Watch Lists

Written by: David Mika on Tuesday, July 7th, 2015. Follow David Mika on Twitter.

 

The Maxwell Football Club today announced its watch lists for the 79th annual Maxwell Award and the 21st annual Chuck Bednarik Award.

The Maxwell Award, named in honor of Robert W. “Tiny” Maxwell, has been given to America’s College Player of the Year since 1937. Maxwell’s contributions to the game of football were extensive, including time as a player, a sportswriter and an official. The Bednarik Award has been presented to the College Defensive Player of the Year since 1995. Chuck Bednarik, former standout at Penn and with the Philadelphia Eagles, is a member of both the College Football Hall of Fame’s Class of ’69 and the NFL Hall of Fame’s Class of ’67.

The watch lists will once again incorporate a broad spectrum of Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) programs and conferences from coast to coast. Returning Maxwell Award semifinalists include Florida State transfer QB Everett Golson, who’s looking to fill Jameis Winston’s big shoes, TCU QB Trevone Boykin, Pittsburgh RB James Conner, Michigan State QB Connor Cook and returning Maxwell Award finalist Mississippi State QB Dak Prescott. Ohio State leads the pack with four players on the list, including RB Ezekiel Elliott and three accomplished quarterbacks, Cardale Jones, J.T. Barrett and Braxton Miller, who’ll compete for the coveted starting position this summer.

Click for a pdf of the 2015 Maxwell Watch list

The Chuck Bednarik Award watch list is headlined by 2014 winner Arizona LB Scooby Wright and features six of last year’s semifinalists. Last season’s runner-up for the award, Ohio State DE Joey Bosa, joins other returning semifinalists, including Michigan State DE Shilique Calhoun, Florida CB Vernon Hargreaves III, Baylor DE Shawn Oakman and Notre Dame LB Jaylon Smith. Florida State DB Jalen Ramsey, Alabama LB A’Shawn Robinson and Virginia Tech CB Kendall Fuller are impact players coming off breakout sophomore seasons.

Click for a pdf of the 2015 Bednarik Watch List

Marcus Mariota capped a brilliant college career at Oregon by becoming the first Duck in school history to win the Maxwell Award. He was drafted second overall by the Tennessee Titans, and will attempt to make an immediate NFL impact like Maxwell winners Andrew Luck and Cam Newton in recent years. Wright has a chance to join Northwestern’s Pat Fitzgerald and Penn State’s Paul Posluszny as the only two-time Bednarik Award winners.

The Maxwell Football Club is a member of the National College Football Awards Association (NCFAA) which encompasses the most prestigious awards in college football. The 22 awards boast over 700 years of tradition-selection excellence. Visit www.NCFAA.org to learn more about our story.

Beginning in 2015, The Home Depot College Football Awards will have a new home at the College Football Hall of Fame and Chick-fil-A Fan Experience in downtown Atlanta. Airing live on ESPN on December 10, 2015, college football’s brightest stars will be honored for their performance on and off the field.

The members of the NCFAA are unveiling their preseason watch lists over a 12-day period this month. Sixteen of the association’s 22 awards select a preseason watch list and the NCFAA has spearheaded a coordinated effort to promote each award’s preseason candidates. Following is the complete 2015 preseason watch list calendar:

Tues., July 7:               Bednarik Award / Maxwell Award
Wed., July 8:               Mackey Award / Rimington Trophy
Thurs., July 9:              Lou Groza Award / Ray Guy Award
Fri., July 10:                 Bronko Nagurski Trophy / Outland Trophy
Mon., July 13:              Jim Thorpe Award
Tues., July 14:              Butkus Award / Rotary Lombardi Award
Wed., July 15:              Biletnikoff Award / Wuerffel Trophy
Thurs, July 16:             Davey O’Brien Award / Doak Walker Award
Fri., July 17:                 Walter Camp Award

Semifinalists for the Maxwell and Bednarik Awards will be announced November 2, 2015, while the three finalists for each award will be unveiled November 23, 2015. The winners of the 2015 Maxwell and Bednarik Awards will be announced as part of the Home Depot College Football Awards Show held on December 10, 2015. The formal presentations of these awards will be made at the Maxwell Football Club Awards Gala hosted by Tropicana Hotel & Casino Atlantic City on March 11, 2016.

Visit our website at www.maxwellfootballclub.org

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