Shedeur Sanders, Quinn Ewers, Carson Beck Headline 2024 Maxwell Award Watchlist

The 2024 Maxwell Award watchlist was released on Monday, with several prominent quarterbacks featured.

Colorado's Shedeur Sanders, Georgia's Carson Beck, and Quinn Ewers of Texas headlined the full list of 80 players that will be monitored to potentially receive the annual award that is given to the most outstanding player in college football.

Miami and Ohio State were the only two schools to have three players on the list, while 15 additional programs had two players.

Former Washington quarterback Michael Penix Jr. earned the honor in 2023 with Washington before he was selected by the Atlanta Falcons with the No. 8 overall pick in the 2024 NFL draft.

Signal-callers have won the award in seven of the past eight years, with the only exception being wide receiver DeVonta Smith during his Heisman Trophy-winning 2020 campaign at Alabama.

Sanders could be in line for another strong season after setting a Colorado school record with 3,230 passing yards in 2023. He also racked up 27 touchdown passes compared to just three interceptions even though the Buffaloes finished with a record of just 4-8 after a promising 4-2 start to the season.

Ewers will also be looking to build upon a strong 2023 season, leading the Longhorns to a victory in the Big 12 title game as well as a College Football Playoff appearance. The 21-year-old completed 69.0 percent of his throws for 3,479 yards and 22 touchdowns.

Although Georgia's undefeated 2023 campaign came to a tough end with a loss to the Crimson Tide in the SEC championship game, Beck could take home the Maxwell Award in 2024 after he was previously a semifinalist in his first year as a full-time starter. He completed an impressive 72.4 percent of his passes last season, averaging just over 280 yards per game through the air.