With the 2024 college football campaign on our doorstep, another season is already upon us. It’s one that sets the table for the feast we’re about to consume, preparing us for the top players we will witness in action these coming fall Saturdays.
That’s right, it’s award watch list season, and earlier this week, the Maxwell Football Club released the Maxwell Award watch list. The SEC prides itself on its motto of “It Just Means More” and thanks to the likes of Jalen Milroe and Carson Beck, it just means more representatives than almost every other conference.
Which SEC Players Are on the 2024 Maxwell Award Watch List?
A longstanding tradition in the sport, the Maxwell Award has been awarded since 1937, and the 2024 season will mark the 88th edition of its presentation. Honoring the College Football Player of the Year, previous winners include Michael Penix Jr. and Caleb Williams. However, the SEC has a strong recent history, winning the award in four consecutive seasons from 2018-2021.
Although the conference enters the 2024 college football campaign on a two-year drought, its chances of winning the award are elevated by an exciting 15 representatives on the Maxwell Award watch list. Only the ACC has more student-athletes on the honor roll, while 12 of the 16 programs have at least one player recognized by the Maxwell Football Club.
The SEC contingent on the Maxwell Award watch list has a strong quarterback flavor, led by returning semifinalists Milroe and Beck. Their ranks are bolstered by first-year starter Nico Iamaleava out of Tennessee and Texas A&M’s Conner Weigman, who looks to showcase his talents after suffering injury woes a year ago.
Jaxson Dart also has a legitimate chance to lift the award, as does Garrett Nussmeier, who takes over the reins at LSU from departed Heisman Trophy winner Jayden Daniels. Conference newcomers help shape the SEC representatives on the Maxwell Award watch list, with Texas and Oklahoma contributing Quinn Ewers and Jackson Arnold to the quarterback conversation.
A non-quarterback hasn’t won the Maxwell Award since 2020, but the 15 SEC players on the watch list include a player who has every chance to follow in the footsteps of DeVonta Smith’s success. Luther Burden III can easily lay claim to being the best player in college football this fall and is one of two Missouri players amongst the SEC contingent listed below.
- Jalen Milroe, QB, Alabama
- Jarquez Hunter, RB, Auburn
- Graham Mertz, QB, Florida
- Carson Beck, QB, Georgia
- Trevor Etienne, RB, Georgia
- Garrett Nussmeier, QB, LSU
- Kyren Lacy, WR, LSU
- Brady Cook, QB, Missouri
- Luther Burden III, WR, Missouri
- Jackson Arnold, QB, Oklahoma
- Jaxson Dart, QB, Ole Miss
- Raheim Sanders, RB, South Carolina
- Nico Iamaleava, QB, Tennessee
- Quinn Ewers, QB, Texas
- Conner Weigman, QB, Texas A&M
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