One of the oldest and most prestigious awards in all of college football has pared down the list of players with a shot at claiming this year’s honor.
Tuesday, the Maxwell Football Club announced the list of 20 semifinalists for this year’s Maxwell Award, handed out annually since 1937 to the nation’s collegiate player of the year. Headlining this year’s crop of semifinalists is the 2018 winner of the award, Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa.
Additionally, another five semifinalists from a year ago are in this year’s group -- Boston College running back AJ Dillon, Clemson running back Travis Etienne, Oregon quarterback Justin Herbert, Utah running back Zack Moss and Wisconsin running back Jonathan Taylor.
Just two defensive players, Auburn defensive tackle Derrick Brown and Ohio State defensive end Chase Young, made the cut. Including Young, all six of the players currently atop the Westgate Las Vegas Superbook‘s Heisman Trophy board -- Tagovailoa, LSU quarterback Joe Burrow, Oklahoma quarterback Jalen Hurts, Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields, Ohio State running back J.K. Dobbins -- earned semifinalist recognition.
