COLUMBUS – All three Ohio State quarterback candidates and the star running back are on the Maxwell Award watch list announced Tuesday by the Maxwell Football Club.
The Maxwell Award, named in honor of Robert “Tiny” Maxwell, has been awarded to the nation’s College Football Player of the Year every year since 1937.
The four Buckeyes represent the most of any school on the preseason list. They are quarterbacks J.T. Barrett, Cardale Jones and Braxton Miller and running back Ezekiel Elliott,
Barrett was named the Big Ten quarterback and freshman of the year in 2014 after going 11-1 as a starter while setting 19 school and Big Ten records. He is recovering from an ankle injury suffered in the regular season finale against Michigan.
Jones, who stepped in for Barrett, threw for 742 yards and five touchdowns and rushed for 90 yards and a score as he led the Buckeyes to a Big Ten championship win over Wisconsin, a Sugar Bowl win over top-ranked Alabama in the College Football Playoff semifinals and a national championship game win over No. 2 Oregon.
Barrett, in turn, had been pressed into the starting quarterback’s job when Miller red-shirted after re-injuring his throwing shoulder in August. Miller is a two-time winner of the Big Ten offensive and quarterback of the year awards in 2012 and 2013.
Elliott is the nation’s leading returning rusher, coming off an 1,878-yard rushing season – the second-highest single-season total in school history – with 18 touchdowns.
A couple of other Buckeyes were added to watch lists on Wednesday: Senior center Jacoby Boren has been named to the Rimington Trophy watch list, which honors the most outstanding center in college football.
Senior Nick Vannett is one of 33 players on the Mackey Award preseason watch list. The award annually honors the most outstanding tight end in college football.