With college football right around the corner and award watch lists being revealed, here are our five favorites to win the 2017 Maxwell Award.
One of the most underrated awards in all of college sports has to be the Maxwell Award. It’s given annually to the nation’s top college football player. It’s not always the Heisman Trophy winner who takes home the Maxwell Award, but it’s usually a finalist for the top award in college football.
Three of the last four Maxwell Awards have gone to quarterbacks as Lamar Jackson took home last year’s while also raking in the Heisman. The year before was Alabama running back Derrick Henry, also a Heisman winner and Marcus Mariota in 2014 — another Heisman recipient. The last non-Heisman Trophy winner to win the Maxwell Award was A.J. McCarron back in 2013.
While it might seem like there’s an offensive theme to the award, defensive players can take it home as well, although it’s rare. The last defensive player to win the award was Notre Dame’s Manti Te’o back in 2013.
The preseason Maxwell Award watch list was released on Monday and here are our five favorites to reel in the coveted honor.
Honorable Mention: Jake Browning, QB, Washington
Jake Browning was one of the best quarterbacks in college football during the 2016 season and he was just a sophomore. Heck, some argued that he would have been the top quarterback chosen in the draft if he was eligible to leave after last season.
Entering the 2017 campaign, there are high expectations for Browning. He passed for 3,430 yards and 43 touchdowns with just nine interceptions last year and over 2,900 yards during his freshman campaign in 2015. If he keeps improving at this rate, he could approach 50 touchdown passes which would make him a lock as a Heisman finalist.
If Washington somehow gets back to the College Football Playoff, there’s no way Browning should be overlooked as a Maxwell Award finalist as well.
The hate for Baker Mayfield is intense, for some reason. Sure, he got in some trouble with the law this offseason when he ran from the police, but he is still one of the most talented quarterbacks in the nation and it’s crazy to believe he used to be a walk-on for Texas Tech.
Since transferring from Texas Tech to Oklahoma, the senior quarterback has been an absolute star. He did pass for over 2,000 yards as a freshman for the Red Raiders, but lost his starting job and decided he’d be better suited at a different program with a fresh start. He picked Norman as his next home and it hasn’t let him down yet.
While he’s had two solid receivers to throw to in Sterling Shepard and Dede Westbrook, he has arguably helped them become top NFL draft picks because of his strong, accurate arm and ability to get them the ball with ease.
Just 20 yards shy of 10,000 for his career and 12 touchdowns short of 100, Mayfield has a chance to achieve some impressive career marks in 2017 while contending for both the Maxwell Award and Heisman. Oh yeah, and Oklahoma could win the Big 12 yet again.
Leonard Fournette is gone, so where does LSU go from here? Fear not, Tigers fans, Derrius Guice is one of the top running backs in the country and I’m even predicting that he will have the best year of any back in the SEC, including Bo Scarbrough. The conference is loaded with talented running backs, but Guice has already proven himself worthy of the hype.
How many running backs can average over 5.0 yards per carry? It’s not an easy task, but running backs who average more than 5.0 yards per carry are usually considered in the upper-tier. Where does that put Guice and his 7.6 yards per touch from 2016? If not at the top, near it.
Not many running backs can average 7.6 yards per carry at the collegiate level — that’s a high school-like mark. Moreover, he averaged 8.5 yards per carry as a freshman for the Tigers and that was even while Fournette was still the feature back. He flew under the radar over the last two seasons and now he’s the No. 1 guy.
Guice enters his junior campaign as the clear starter and the go-to guy on offense. He put up over 1,300 yards and 15 touchdowns last season and he could surpass those marks while still averaging 7.0-plus yards per touch. This kid isn’t talked about enough.
Lamar Jackson pulled off something not many players in college football history have done. He won the Heisman Trophy as a sophomore and set the bar for dual-threat quarterbacks. Although his passing numbers weren’t the best in the nation, he made up for it with his legs.
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The sophomore from Louisville began the season hotter than any quarterback in recent memory and was scoring touchdowns with ease. He was doing it equally with his arm and legs, but later in the season, his passing numbers dwindled.
In fact, he failed to break the 300-yard mark through the air in the final five games and two times, he failed to break 200 yards. His final game of the season against LSU in the Citrus Bowl was his worst of the year, putting a damper on his otherwise impressive campaign.
Overall, his numbers were solid and he passed for 3,543 yards and 30 touchdowns with nine interceptions. He also ran for 1,571 yards and 21 touchdowns, making himself a nightmare for opposing defenses.
People are often overlooking Saquon Barkley. It’s easy to do when you look at his yards per carry numbers dipping from his freshman to sophomore year even with a better offensive line in front of him. Still, you can’t discount his 1,496 yards and 18 touchdowns on 5.5 yards per touch.
Entering his junior season, he’s getting recognition as the Big Ten’s top running back — two straight 1,000-yard seasons to start a career will do that. He’s even been labeled a ‘freak’ athlete by some major publications.
According to Sports Illustrated, Barkley is the No. 1 ‘freak’ athlete in college football and a major workout warrior. He’s dropped his 40-time to 4.33 and he can even squad 525 pounds five times. Those are incredible numbers for a 5-foot-11 back who has also added 15 pounds of pure muscle.
As long as he remains healthy, along with his offensive line, there’s a good chance Barkley will be a Heisman finalist and a frontrunner to win the Maxwell Award. With his work ethic, I’d be shocked to see his yards per carry regress yet again in 2017. Watch him account for 1,700 yards and 20 touchdowns this season.
Last, but certainly not least, Sam Darnold has to be considered the favorite to win both the Maxwell Award and Heisman Trophy. He’s widely considered the top quarterback in the nation after his scorching-hot final 10 games of the 2016 season.
The redshirt freshman didn’t begin the season as the presumed starter, but took over after the third game in which USC was already 1-2. Max Browne was struggling to lead the Trojans and lost his starting job to Darnold after the horrid start. He took over against Utah, which was a lost, and passed for over 250 yards on 18-of-26 completions.
With a 2-3 record, it looked like Clay Helton’s USC career would be a short-lived one, but appointing Darnold the starter would pay huge dividends despite the loss in his first start. He then led the Trojans to eight straight victories as they made it to the Rose Bowl against red-hot Penn State.
The Trojans made a major comeback to win the Rose Bowl, 52-49, and he passed for 453 yards and five touchdowns, completing 33-of-53 passes.
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Darnold finished the season with 3,086 yards and 31 touchdowns with nine picks, completing 67 percent of his passes. He is already looking like an NFL-ready quarterback and the top prospect for 2018.