College Football Awards 2018: Finalists for Maxwell, Doak Walker, More Released

The finalists for many of college football's top year-end awards were announced by ESPN on Monday.

In one of the more closely watched races, Alabama Crimson Tide quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, West Virginia quarterback Will Grier and Oklahoma Sooners quarterback Kyler Murray are the three Maxwell Award finalists.

The Maxwell Award results are often a solid indicator as to how the Heisman Trophy voting will unfold. The last four Maxwell winners went on to capture the Heisman as well.

Tagovailoa, who's arguably the Heisman front-runner, is also up for the Davey O'Brien National Quarterback Award. He could potentially be the first Alabama player to win the Davey O'Brien Award.

In what's likely to be a tight contest, Clemson's Travis Etienne, Memphis' Darrell Henderson and Wisconsin's Jonathan Taylor are up for the Doak Walker Award, which goes to the best running back.

On the defensive side of the ball, Kentucky's Josh Allen, Clemson's Christian Wilkins and Alabama's Quinnen Williams are vying for the Chuck Bednarik Award, which honors the best defender in FBS.

In general, the top-ranked Crimson Tide are well represented. Alabama could see five award-winners, and that doesn't include the Heisman or Rimington Award, neither of which have announced their finalists.

Based on Alabama's dominance this year, Nick Saban's team is likely to clean up on the award front.

Here's a look at the full list of finalists.

2018 College Football Award Finalists

Chuck Bednarik Award

Josh Allen, Kentucky Wildcats

Christian Wilkins, Clemson Tigers

Quinnen Williams, Alabama Crimson Tide

Biletnikoff Award

Andy Isabella, Massachusetts Minutemen

Jerry Jeudy, Alabama Crimson Tide

Tylan Wallace, Oklahoma State Cowboys

Lou Groza Collegiate Place-Kicker Award

Cooper Rothe, Wyoming Cowboys

Andre Szmyt, Syracuse Orange

Cole Tracy, LSU Tigers

Ray Guy Award

Braden Mann, Texas A&M Aggies

James Smith, Cincinnati Bearcats

Mitch Wishnowsky, Utah Utes

Maxwell Award

Will Grier, West Virginia Mountaineers

Kyler Murray, Oklahoma Sooners

Tua Tagovailoa, Alabama Crimson Tide

Davey O'Brien National Quarterback Award

Gardner Minshew, Washington State Cougars

Kyler Murray, Oklahoma Sooners

Tua Tagovailoa, Alabama Crimson Tide

Outland Trophy

Christian Wilkins, Clemson Tigers

Jonah Williams, Alabama Crimson Tide

Quinnen Williams, Alabama Crimson Tide

Paycom Jim Thorpe Award

DeAndre Baker, Georgia Bulldogs

Julian Love, Notre Dame Fighting Irish

Greedy Williams, LSU Tigers

Doak Walker Award

Travis Etienne, Clemson Tigers

Darrell Henderson, Memphis Tigers

Jonathan Taylor, Wisconsin Badgers

John Mackey Award

T.J. Hockenson, Iowa Hawkeyes

Albert Okwuegbunam, Missouri Tigers

Kaden Smith, Stanford Cardinal

Wuerffel Trophy

David Blough, Purdue Boilermakers

Dalton Risner, Kansas State Wildcats

Drue Tranquill, Notre Dame Fighting Irish

With the exception of the John Mackey Award and Wuerffel Trophy, the award winners will be revealed Dec. 6 on ESPN.