One of the most prestigious awards in college football has thrown its annual hat into the watch list ring.
Tuesday morning, the Maxwell Football Club unveiled its 2016 watch list for the Maxwell Award, a group this year that consists of 90 players from all 10 FBS conferences as well independents in BYU and Notre Dame. Two finalists for the 2015 version of the Maxwell Award, handed out annually since 1937 to the nation’s player of the year, won by Alabama running back Derrick Henry are included in the 90-player group -- Clemson quarterback Deshaun Watson and Stanford running back Christian McCaffrey.
The ACC, with 15 players named to the watch list, paces all conferences, followed by 12 apiece for the Big 12, Big Ten and Pac-12. Interestingly, the SEC has the fewest of any Power Five conference with just nine.
Of the Group of Five leagues, the AAC, Conference USA and Mountain West lead with six apiece. The MAC is next with five, while the Sun Belt brings four to the watch list party. A total of thee players come from independents, two from Notre Dame and one from BYU.
Baylor and Clemson lead all individual schools with three players apiece.
Of the 90 players listed, 72 of them play either quarterback or running back -- 39 of the latter, 33 of the former. There are 16 wide receivers on the list, and two tight ends.
Below is the complete watch list for the 2016 Maxwell Award:
