via Maxwell Football Club
PHILADELPHIA, PA -- The Maxwell Football Club today announced its watch lists for the 83rd annual Maxwell Award and the 25th 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. The reigning 2018 Maxwell Award winner Tua Tagovailoa (Alabama) heads the 2019 list with a slew of 2018 semifinalists returning; including AJ Dillon (Boston College), Travis Etienne (Clemson), Laviska Shenault (Colorado), D'Eriq King (Houston), Ian Book (Notre Dame), Justin Herbert (Oregon), Rondale Moore (Purdue), Zack Moss (Utah) and Jonathan Taylor (Wisconsin). Alabama and Clemson lead the pack with three Maxwell Award candidates each as the season approaches.
The Chuck Bednarik Award watch list features fresh faces, as 2018 winner Josh Allen (Kentucky) and finalists Quinnen Williams (Alabama) and Christian Wilkins (Clemson) have all moved on to the NFL. The lone returning semifinalist Grant Delpit (LSU) will be joined by a talented group of defensive candidates from conferences across America, with Alabama, Clemson, Colorado, Florida, Fresno State, LSU, Miami, Michigan, Michigan State, Mississippi State, Northwestern, Notre Dame, Penn State, Syracuse, TCU, Utah and Utah State all boasting multiple candidates.
Tagovailoa capped a brilliant 2018 season at Alabama by becoming the third Crimson Tide player to win the Maxwell Award, joining AJ McCarron (2013) and Derrick Henry (2015). Josh Allen, the 2018 Bednarik Award winner, was the first player from the University of Kentucky to win the award. Allen was chosen with the 7th overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft by the Jacksonville Jaguars. Tagovailoa will return to Tuscaloosa for his junior season at Alabama.
The Maxwell and Bednarik Awards are members of the National College Football Awards Association (NCFAA), which encompasses the most prestigious awards in college football. Founded in 1997, the NCFAA and its 25 awards now boast over 800 recipients, dating to 1935. Visit ncfaa.org to learn more about the association.
The members of the NCFAA are unveiling their preseason watch lists over a 12-day period this month. Seventeen of the association's 25 awards select a preseason watch list and the NCFAA has spearheaded a coordinated effort to promote each award's preseason candidates.
Following is the entire 2019 preseason watch list calendar:
Monday July 15 Bednarik Award / Maxwell Award
Tuesday July 16 Davey O'Brien Award
Wednesday July 17 Doak Walker Award
Thursday July 18 Biletnikoff Award
Friday July 19 Mackey Award & Rimington Award
Monday July 22 Thorpe Award & Butkus Award
Tuesday July 23 Outland Trophy & Nagurski Award
Wednesday July 24 Groza Award & Ray Guy Award
Thursday July 25 Hornung Award & Wuerffel Trophy
Friday July 26 Walter Camp Award
Semifinalists for the Maxwell and Bednarik Awards will be announced October 29, 2019, while the three finalists for each award will be unveiled November 25, 2019. The winners of the 2019 Maxwell and Bednarik Awards will be announced as part of the Home Depot College Football Awards Show held on December 12, 2019. 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 13, 2020.
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