Maxwell Award winners list with year, recipients name and school, check names of all time winners of the “college football player of the year” award. The Maxwell Award is an annual college football award given to the best player in American college football. It is named after Robert “Tiny” Maxwell, a former college football player, and sportswriter. The award has a long history, and it has been presented annually since 1937.
Originally, the Maxwell Award was presented by the Maxwell Football Club, which is based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The award is not limited to any specific position on the field, making it one of the most prestigious individual honors a college football player can receive.
Maxwell Award Winners List by Year
| Year | Player | School |
|---|---|---|
| 1937 | Clint Frank | Yale |
| 1938 | Davey O’Brien | TCU |
| 1939 | Nile Kinnick | Iowa |
| 1940 | Tom Harmon | Michigan |
| 1941 | Bill Dudley | Virginia |
| 1942 | Paul Governali | Columbia |
| 1943 | Bob Odell | Pennsylvania |
| 1944 | Glenn Davis | Army |
| 1945 | Doc Blanchard | Army |
| 1946 | Charley Trippi | Georgia |
| 1947 | Doak Walker | SMU |
| 1948 | Chuck Bednarik | Pennsylvania |
| 1949 | Leon Hart | Notre Dame |
| 1950 | Reds Bagnell | Pennsylvania |
| 1951 | Dick Kazmaier | Princeton |
| 1952 | Johnny Lattner | Notre Dame |
| 1953 | Johnny Lattner | Notre Dame |
| 1954 | Ron Beagle | Navy |
| 1955 | Howard Cassady | Ohio State |
| 1956 | Tommy McDonald | Oklahoma |
| 1957 | Bob Reifsnyder | Navy |
| 1958 | Pete Dawkins | Army |
| 1959 | Richie Lucas | Penn State |
| 1960 | Joe Bellino | Navy |
| 1961 | Bob Ferguson | Ohio State |
| 1962 | Terry Baker | Oregon State |
| 1963 | Roger Staubach | Navy |
| 1964 | Glenn Ressler | Penn State |
| 1965 | Tommy Nobis | Texas |
| 1966 | Jim Lynch | Notre Dame |
| 1967 | Gary Beban | UCLA |
| 1968 | O. J. Simpson | USC |
| 1969 | Mike Reid | Penn State |
| 1970 | Jim Plunkett | Stanford |
| 1971 | Ed Marinaro | Cornell |
| 1972 | Brad Van Pelt | Michigan State |
| 1973 | John Cappelletti | Penn State |
| 1974 | Steve Joachim | Temple |
| 1975 | Archie Griffin | Ohio State |
| 1976 | Tony Dorsett | Pittsburgh |
| 1977 | Ross Browner | Notre Dame |
| 1978 | Chuck Fusina | Penn State |
| 1979 | Charles White | USC |
| 1980 | Hugh Green | Pittsburgh |
| 1981 | Marcus Allen | USC |
| 1982 | Herschel Walker | Georgia |
| 1983 | Mike Rozier | Nebraska |
| 1984 | Doug Flutie | Boston College |
| 1985 | Chuck Long | Iowa |
| 1986 | Vinny Testaverde | Miami |
| 1987 | Don McPherson | Syracuse |
| 1988 | Barry Sanders | Oklahoma State |
| 1989 | Anthony Thompson | Indiana |
| 1990 | Ty Detmer | BYU |
| 1991 | Desmond Howard | Michigan |
| 1992 | Gino Torretta | Miami |
| 1993 | Charlie Ward | Florida State |
| 1994 | Kerry Collins | Penn State |
| 1995 | Eddie George | Ohio State |
| 1996 | Danny Wuerffel | Florida |
| 1997 | Peyton Manning | Tennessee |
| 1998 | Ricky Williams | Texas |
| 1999 | Ron Dayne | Wisconsin |
| 2000 | Drew Brees | Purdue |
| 2001 | Ken Dorsey | Miami |
| 2002 | Larry Johnson | Penn State |
| 2003 | Eli Manning | Ole Miss |
| 2004 | Jason White | Oklahoma |
| 2005 | Vince Young | Texas |
| 2006 | Brady Quinn | Notre Dame |
| 2007 | Tim Tebow | Florida |
| 2008 | Tim Tebow | Florida |
| 2009 | Colt McCoy | Texas |
| 2010 | Cam Newton | Auburn |
| 2011 | Andrew Luck | Stanford |
| 2012 | Manti Te’o | Notre Dame |
| 2013 | A. J. McCarron | Alabama |
| 2014 | Marcus Mariota | Oregon |
| 2015 | Derrick Henry | Alabama |
| 2016 | Lamar Jackson | Louisville |
| 2017 | Baker Mayfield | Oklahoma |
| 2018 | Tua Tagovailoa | Alabama |
| 2019 | Joe Burrow | LSU |
| 2020 | DeVonta Smith | Alabama |
| 2021 | Bryce Young | Alabama |
| 2022 | Caleb Williams | USC |
Preseason Maxwell Award Watch List 2023
The Maxwell Football Club today announced its watch list for the 87th Maxwell Award presented annually to the outstanding player in college football. The Maxwell Award has been presented to the College Player of the Year since 1937 and is named in honor of Robert “Tiny” Maxwell who was a former standout at Swarthmore College and a renowned sportswriter and football official.
- Alex Adams – WR Akron Junior
- Braelon Allen – RB Wisconsin Junior
- Trey Benson – RB Florida State Junior
- Brock Bowers – TE Georgia Junior
- Carter Bradley – QB South Alabama Senior
- Jermaine Brown – RB UAB Senior
- Hudson Card – QB Purdue Junior
- Marquez Cooper – RB Ball State Junior
- Chevan Cordeiro – QB San Jose State Senior
- Malachi Corley – WR Western Kentucky Junior
- Blake Corum – RB Michigan Senior
- Jacob Cowing – WR Arizona Senior
- Jalon Daniels – QB Kansas Junior
- Jayden Daniels – QB LSU Senior
- Jayden de Laura – QB Arizona Junior
- Emeka Egbuka – WR Ohio State Junior
- Samson Evans – RB Eastern Michigan Senior
- Quinn Ewers – QB Texas Sophomore
- Dequan Finn – QB Toledo Junior
- Dillon Gabriel – QB Oklahoma Senior
- Oronde Gadsden – TE Syracuse Junior
- Matthew Golden – WR Houston Sophomore
- Frank Gore, Jr. – RB Southern Miss Junior
- Darren Grainger – QB Georgia State Senior
- Taylen Green – QB Boise State Sophomore
- Donavon Greene – WR Wake Forest Junior
- Frank Harris – QB UTSA Senior
- Marvin Harrison Jr. – WR Ohio State Junior
- Sam Hartman – QB Notre Dame Senior
- Seth Henigan – QB Memphis Junior
- George Holani – RB Boise State Senior
- Tory Horton – WR Colorado State Senior
- Will Howard – QB Kansas State Senior
- KJ Jefferson – QB Arkansas Senior
- Quinshon Judkins – RB Ole Miss Sophomore
- Phil Jurkovec – QB Pitt Senior
- Devin Leary – QB Kentucky Senior
- Riley Leonard – QB Duke Junior
- Damien Martinez – RB Oregon State Sophomore
- Drake Maye – QB North Carolina Sophomore
- Grayson McCall – QB Coastal Carolina Senior
- Larry McCammon – RB Florida Atlantic Senior
- J.J. McCarthy – QB Michigan Junior
- Jase McClellan – RB Alabama Junior
- Cade McNamara – QB Iowa Senior
- Joe Milton – QB Tennessee Senior
- Tanner Mordecai – QB Wisconsin Senior
- Chandler Morris – QB TCU Sophomore
- Malik Nabers – WR LSU Junior
- Devin Neal – RB Kansas Junior
- Bo Nix – QB Oregon Senior
- Nate Noel – RB Appalachian State Junior
- Rome Odunze – WR Washington Junior
- Jaydn Ott – RB Cal Sophomore
- Diego Pavia – QB New Mexico State Senior
- Ricky Pearsall – WR Florida Senior
- Michael Penix Jr. – QB Washington Senior
- John Rhys Plumlee – QB UCF Senior
- Jack Plummer – QB Louisville Senior
- Michael Pratt – QB Tulane Junior
- Spencer Rattler – QB South Carolina Senior
- Austin Reed – QB Western Kentucky Senior
- Richard Reese – RB Baylor Sophomore
- Cameron Rising – QB Utah Senior
- Aidan Robbins – RB BYU Junior
- Will Rogers – QB Mississippi State Senior
- Kurtis Rourke – QB Ohio Senior
- Raheim Sanders – RB Arkansas Junior
- Shedeur Sanders – QB Colorado Junior
- Will Sheppard – WR Vanderbilt Senior
- Will Shipley – RB Clemson Junior
- Tyler Shough – QB Texas Tech Senior
- Garrett Shrader – QB Syracuse Senior
- Nicholas Singleton – RB Penn State Sophomore
- Kedon Slovis – QB BYU Senior
- Taulia Tagovailoa – QB Maryland Senior
- Jordan Travis – QB Florida State Senior
- Cameron Ward – QB Washington State Junior
- E.J. Warner – QB Temple Sophomore
- La’Damian Webb – RB South Alabama Senior
- Antwane Wells – WR South Carolina Senior
- Jalen White – RB Georgia Southern Senior
- Isaiah Williams – WR Illinois Junior
- Caleb Williams – QB USC Junior
- Xavier Worthy – WR Texas Junior
Selection of Winners of Maxwell Awards
The Maxwell Award is presented annually to the college football player judged by a panel of sportscasters, sportswriters, and National Collegiate Athletic Association head coaches and the membership of the Maxwell Football Club to be the best all-around in the United States. The award is named after Robert “Tiny” Maxwell, a Swarthmore College football player, coach, and sportswriter. Johnny Lattner (1952, 1953) and Tim Tebow (2007, 2008) are the only players to have won the award twice. It is the college equivalent of the Bert Bell Award of the National Football League, also given out by the Maxwell Club.
The winner of the Maxwell Award is chosen through a voting process involving sportswriters, sportscasters, and NCAA head coaches from across the country. The criteria for selecting the winner are typically based on on-field performance, overall contributions to the team, and leadership qualities demonstrated throughout the season.
Over the years, many outstanding college football players have been honored with the Maxwell Award, including some who have gone on to have successful careers in the NFL and other professional leagues. It’s worth noting that there is also a separate Maxwell Award given to the College Coach of the Year, recognizing the most outstanding college football coach each year.
