Maxwell Award Watch List 2016: Full List and Bleacher Report Favorites
It's time to watch the watch lists, college football fans.
On Tuesday morning, the Maxwell Football Club released the first two major watch lists for the 2016 season—the Maxwell Award and the Bednarik Award.
Similar to the famous Heisman Trophy, the Maxwell is given to the "player of the year" in college football, and it's been dominated by quarterbacks and running backs. Of the 90 names that make up the Maxwell's first massive watch list, more than 70 of them play in the backfield.
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Here is the full watch list for the Maxwell Award, which contains nearly every returning offensive star of note in the Power Five conferences and some "Group of Five" programs:
| Tommy Armstrong Jr. | QB | Nebraska | Senior |
| Saquon Barkley | RB | Penn State | Sophomore |
| J.T Barrett | QB | Ohio State | Junior |
| C.J. Beathard | QB | Iowa | Senior |
| Mike Boone | RB | Cincinnati | Senior |
| Joel Bouagnon | RB | Northern Illinois | Senior |
| Matt Breida | RB | Georgia Southern | Senior |
| Jake Browning | QB | Washington | Sophomore |
| James Butler | RB | Nevada | Junior |
| Jake Butt | TE | Michigan | Senior |
| KD Cannon | WR | Baylor | Junior |
| Jehu Chesson | WR | Michigan | Senior |
| Nick Chubb | RB | Georgia | Junior |
| Corey Clement | RB | Wisconsin | Senior |
| Simmie Cobbs | WR | Indiana | Junior |
| James Conner | RB | Pittsburgh | Junior |
| Dalvin Cook | RB | Florida State | Junior |
| Marcus Cox | RB | Appalachian State | Senior |
| Corey Davis | WR | Western Michigan | Senior |
| Matt Dayes | RB | NC State | Senior |
| Joshua Dobbs | QB | Tennessee | Senior |
| Luke Falk | QB | Washington State | Junior |
| Isaiah Ford | WR | Virginia Tech | Junior |
| Leonard Fournette | RB | LSU | Junior |
| Royce Freeman | RB | Oregon | Junior |
| Wayne Gallman | RB | Clemson | Junior |
| Myles Gaskin | RB | Washington | Sophomore |
| Chris Godwin | WR | Penn State | Junior |
| Deante' Gray | WR | TCU | Senior |
| Taysom Hill | QB | BYU | Senior |
| Brian Hill | RB | Wyoming | Junior |
| Elijah Hood | RB | North Carolina | Junior |
| O.J. Howard | TE | Alabama | Senior |
| Skyler Howard | QB | West Virginia | Senior |
| Kareem Hunt | RB | Toledo | Senior |
| Jalen Hurd | RB | Tennessee | Junior |
| Lamar Jackson | QB | Louisville | Sophomore |
| Justin Jackson | RB | Northwestern | Junior |
| Richie James | WR | Middle Tennessee | Sophomore |
| Ronald Jones II | RB | USC | Sophomore |
| Aaron Jones | RB | UTEP | Junior |
| Brad Kaaya | QB | Miami | Junior |
| Chad Kelly | QB | Ole Miss | Senior |
| Gunner Kiel | QB | Cincinnati | Senior |
| Christian Kirk | WR | Texas A&M | Sophomore |
| DeShone Kizer | QB | Notre Dame | Junior |
| Trevor Knight | QB | Texas A&M | Senior |
| Mitch Leidner | QB | Minnesota | Senior |
| Shock Linwood | RB | Baylor | Senior |
| Wes Lunt | QB | Illinois | Senior |
| Marlon Mack | RB | South Florida | Junior |
| Patrick Mahomes II | QB | Texas Tech | Junior |
| Gabe Marks | WR | Washington State | Senior |
| Baker Mayfield | QB | Oklahoma | Senior |
| Christian McCaffrey | RB | Stanford | Junior |
| Elijah McGuire | RB | UL-Lafayette | Senior |
| Travon McMillian | RB | Virginia Tech | Sophomore |
| Jeremy McNichols | RB | Boise State | Junior |
| Taquan Mizzell | RB | Virginia | Senior |
| Nick Mullens | QB | Southern Miss | Senior |
| Jacobi Owens | RB | Air Force | Senior |
| Samaje Perine | RB | Oklahoma | Junior |
| Donnel Pumphrey | RB | San Diego State | Senior |
| Demario Richard | RB | Arizona State | Junior |
| Calvin Ridley | WR | Alabama | Sophomore |
| Larry Rose III | RB | New Mexico State | Junior |
| Josh Rosen | QB | UCLA | Sophomore |
| Mason Rudolph | QB | Oklahoma State | Junior |
| Cooper Rush | QB | Central Michigan | Senior |
| Seth Russell | QB | Baylor | Senior |
| Brett Rypien | QB | Boise State | Sophomore |
| Thomas Sirk | QB | Duke | Senior |
| Ito Smith | RB | Southern Miss | Junior |
| JuJu Smith-Schuster | WR | USC | Junior |
| Anu Solomon | QB | Arizona | Junior |
| Brent Stockstill | QB | Middle Tennessee | Sophomore |
| Taywan Taylor | WR | Western Kentucky | Senior |
| Justin Thomas | QB | Georgia Tech | Senior |
| Jahad Thomas | RB | Temple | Senior |
| KaVontae Turpin | WR | TCU | Sophomore |
| PJ Walker | QB | Temple | Senior |
| Greg Ward Jr. | QB | Houston | Senior |
| Mike Warren | RB | Iowa State | Sophomore |
| James Washington | WR | Oklahoma State | Junior |
| Deshaun Watson | QB | Clemson | Junior |
| Davis Webb | QB | California | Senior |
| Mike Williams | WR | Clemson | Junior |
| Joseph Yearby | RB | Miami | Junior |
| Marquis Young | RB | UMass | Sophomore |
| Malik Zaire | QB | Notre Dame | Senior |
Before getting to the list of favorites for the 2016 Maxwell Award, let's take a look at some trends since 2000 for this player of the year honor.
Back-to-back doubles: From 2000 to 2006, no player won both the Heisman Trophy and the Maxwell Award in the same year. That ended with Tim Tebow's dual victories in 2007, and Cam Newton grabbed both awards in 2010. There weren't any double winners from 2010 to 2013, but the last two Heisman winners—Marcus Mariota in 2014 and Derrick Henry in 2015—received the Maxwell as well.
Gotta get to NYC: While the Maxwell and the Heisman voters haven't always seen eye-to-eye on who is the best, the Maxwell winner is usually a finalist for the Heisman. Each of the last 16 Maxwell Award winners finished in the top three of the Heisman vote, with 2011 to 2013's winners all coming in second place. Picking a favorite who is expected to make it to the Heisman ceremony is a safe bet.
Lean toward the veterans: Tebow has been the only underclassman to win the Maxwell Award since 2000 when he did it in 2007. If there's a close race between a star freshman or sophomore and veterans for the major awards, look for the Maxwell to go with the older player. In 2012, senior Manti Te'o won the Maxwell over freshman Heisman winner Johnny Manziel, and AJ McCarron did the same against Jameis Winston in 2013.
It's an arms race, mostly: Since 2000, only three non-quarterbacks have won the Maxwell Award—Larry Johnson, Te'o and Henry. Last season, it appeared to be Henry versus Stanford running back Christian McCaffrey for college football's best honors, with Clemson quarterback Deshaun Watson lurking in third. But if a quarterback is more in the mix this fall, he historically has the upper hand.
Play for a contender: The first half of the 2000s had winners with a wide range of win-loss records by season's end. However, since Tebow's 2007 win, the Maxwell has gone to a member of a team that had at least 10 wins and made it to a BCS/New Year's Six bowl game. Six of the last eight winners have played for the national championship.
Keeping all of those trends in mind, let's take a look at several front-runners for this year's Maxwell Award.
The Favorites
Clemson QB Deshaun Watson
While Leonard Fournette has passed Watson in the preseason Heisman odds boards, per Bovada (via SEC Country), the Clemson quarterback might be the best bet for the Maxwell Award this year. Watson checks all of the boxes—upperclassman, expected Heisman finalist, quarterback, star player for a title contender—and he could be in line for some ridiculous numbers in 2016.
Last year, he became the first player in FBS history to throw for 4,000 yards and rush for 1,000 more in a single season. This year, he'll be back with almost all of his supporting cast intact, plus the return of star wide receiver Mike Williams, who missed almost all of Clemson's 2015 run to the national title game with a neck injury.
LSU RB Leonard Fournette
On the other hand, this looks like another "Year of the Running Back" in college football, and Fournette is the torchbearer for it. Fournette looked like he was going to have a clean sweep of the major awards for two-thirds of the 2015 season, but a bad night against Alabama derailed his momentum.
In 2016, Fournette will have an experienced cast of playmakers around him, plenty of preseason hype and a date with Alabama inside Death Valley. He's the most talented player in the country and will be itching to prove it this fall after a late-season slide in 2015.
Oklahoma QB Baker Mayfield
Baker Mayfield had a real shot at landing in the Heisman Trophy finalist circle last season, as he was among the best nationally in almost every major passing category while leading Oklahoma to a College Football Playoff berth. The Sooners will be favorites to repeat as Big 12 champions, and Mayfield will be motivated to get the awards recognition he lacked last fall.
Mayfield can spread the ball around to star running back Samaje Perine, big-play wide receiver Dede Westbrook and experienced Penn State transfer Geno Lewis. More eye-popping numbers against a schedule that is downright brutal in the front half would make Mayfield an ideal Maxwell candidate down the stretch.
Stanford RB Christian McCaffrey
If the Maxwell wants to go with a "career achievement" lean this season, McCaffrey could snag the award. He came in second to Henry for the Heisman last season despite breaking the all-time FBS record for all-purpose yardage in a single season.
It will be extremely tough for McCaffrey to match what he did last season for Stanford, especially without the assistance of star quarterback Kevin Hogan. But if McCaffrey can post another incredible season of all-purpose yardage and keep Stanford in championship contention, there's little chance he'll leave 2016 empty-handed in terms of major awards. The Maxwell would be just the trophy for him.
Ohio State QB J.T. Barrett
More preseason Heisman love is building up for J.T. Barrett, who came off the bench to help lead Ohio State toward a Big Ten championship and CFP berth in his freshman season. Last year, Barrett proved he should've been the starter all season long for head coach Urban Meyer by leading the Buckeyes to a 4-1 record as the primary quarterback.
Barrett is one of only six returning starters for Ohio State in 2016, and he's surrounded by a loaded group of exciting but inexperienced playmakers. If Barrett can keep his strong play from 2014 and late 2015 going with a brand-new supporting cast, award voters from all over the country will fall in love with his chances.
The Wild Cards
Florida State RB Dalvin Cook: Dalvin Cook doesn't have the same Heisman buzz from last season as Fournette or McCaffrey, but he is the most explosive back in the entire country. Florida State has the weapons to contend for a national title in 2016, and a healthy Cook should lead the way.
Georgia RB Nick Chubb: If Nick Chubb can return from his devastating knee injury and continue to put up the ridiculous numbers he had late in 2014 and early in 2015, he'll be an easy call for awards contention. A healthy and effective Chubb could mean a Georgia team contending for an SEC title in head coach Kirby Smart's first season.
Notre Dame's Starting QB: Whether it's DeShone Kizer or Malik Zaire, Notre Dame will have a dual-threat signal-caller with great experience to lead it into the 2016 campaign. The Fighting Irish have the overall talent and the schedule to make a run at a College Football Playoff berth, and the buzz that the starting quarterback in South Bend would get if that happened would be through the roof.
Ole Miss QB Chad Kelly: Chad Kelly put up near-record numbers for the SEC in his first year at Ole Miss, leading the Rebels to another upset over Alabama and a New Year's Six bowl victory. The offense around him doesn't have the same amount of returning firepower, but a more experienced Kelly should be one of the best quarterbacks in the country in 2016.
Tennessee QB Joshua Dobbs: How's this for an award campaign? Senior quarterback Joshua Dobbs leads Tennessee to its first SEC Championship Game since 2007 and gets the Volunteers into playoff contention with a fantastic year of dual-threat stats. If that happens, watch out for this veteran Vol.
Justin Ferguson is a National College Football Analyst at Bleacher Report. You can follow him on Twitter @JFergusonBR.
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