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 Big 12 is a conference going from strength to strength and that is reflected by an impressive 15 players represented among the best of the best for the upcoming college football campaign.
Which Big 12 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. The Big 12 hasn’t had a winner since Baker Mayfield in 2018, but could that change for the 88th edition?
The Big 12 may have lost Texas and Oklahoma to the SEC, but there’s no talent disparity as a result, with the 15 representatives matching the self-styled number-one conference in the country. 11 programs are represented on the Maxwell Award watch list, and four different teams have multiple student-athletes recognized by the Maxwell Football Club for their talents.
Returning quarterback Shedeur Sanders wowed college football fans in his debut season for the Colorado Buffaloes last fall, and he’s one of three former Pac-12 quarterbacks singled out for recognition on the Maxwell Award watch list. Arizona Wildcat standout Noah Fifita is a name to know, while Cam Rising returns to the Utah Utes looking to add a third conference crown.
Other Big 12 quarterbacks recognized on the Maxwell Award watch list include new Baylor Bears QB Dequan Finn, who arrives in the conference after a successful stint with the Toledo Rockets and UCF newcomer KJ Jefferson. Meanwhile, Kansas’ Jalon Daniels, Kansas State’s Avery Johnson, and West Virginia’s Garrett Greene are known commodities in the conference.
There are a strong group of running backs in the Big 12 this fall, and the Maxwell Award watch list reflects that. Ollie Gordon II is the reigning Doak Walker Award winner, and after avoiding suspension for an offseason incident, he’s set to wreak havoc for the Oklahoma State Cowboys once again this season alongside Texas Tech’s Tahj Brooks, Kansas State’s DJ Giddens and Kansas’ Devin Neal.
A non-quarterback hasn’t won the Maxwell Award since 2020, when Alabama wide receiver DeVonta Smith scooped the honor. The Big 12 has a legitimate competitor at the position, with Arizona’s Tetairoa McMillan arguably one of the best players in all of college football this fall. He joins the list of 15 Big 12 players earmarked for attention on the Maxwell Award watch list detailed below:
- Tetairoa McMillan, WR, Arizona
- Noah Fifita, QB, Arizona
- Dequan Finn, QB, Baylor
- Corey Kiner, RB, Cincinnati
- Shedeur Sanders, QB, Colorado
- Devin Neal, RB, Kansas
- Jalon Daniels, QB, Kansas
- DJ Giddens, RB, Kansas State
- Avery Johnson, QB, Kansas State
- Ollie Gordon II, RB, Oklahoma State
- Tahj Brooks, RB, Texas Tech
- KJ Jefferson, QB, UCF
- RJ Harvey, RB, UCF
- Cameron Rising, QB, Utah
- Garrett Greene, QB, West Virginia
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