Justin Fields Appears on Maxwell Award Watch List

Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields is quite arguably the best returning player in college football and perhaps the best NFL prospect entering the 2020 season. On Friday, he was named to the Robert Maxwell Award Watch List.

The Maxwell Award is presented annually to the best all-around college football player in the country as judged by sportscasters, sportswriters, NCAA head coaches and the Maxwell Football Club.

Click here to view this year's full watch list.

Fields is looking to become the fifth Ohio State player to ever win the award. He would join Buckeye legends Howard "Hopalong" Cassady (1955), Bob Ferguson (1961), Archie Griffin (1975) and Eddie George (1995) as the only Buckeyes to ever earn this prestigious honor, which has been bestowed each year since 1937.

Justin Fields had a fabulous first season in Columbus during 2019. He finished the season with 41 touchdown passes and only three interceptions (two of which came in the final game of the season), completing 67.2% of his passes. He threw for 3,273 yards and ran for another 484 yards and 10 scores. Fields was third in the country in passing efficiency (181.4) and third in points responsible for (306). He engineered a Buckeye offense that finished 2019 fourth in total offense (529.9 yards per game) and third in scoring offense (46.9 points per game).

Fields threw at least four touchdowns in a game on five occasions. He was the Big Ten Quarterback and Offensive Player of the Year, the MVP of the Big Ten Championship Game, a Davey O'Brien Award finalist, a Heisman Trophy finalist and an All-American.

Coming out of Harrison High School in Georgia, he was the No. 2 overall player in the class of 2018 and the nation's top-ranked duel threat quarterback. Fields spent his freshman season at the University of Georgia where he earned freshman All SEC honors.

The Maxwell Award is a member of the National College Football Awards Association (NCFAA), which encompasses the most prestigious awards in college football. Founded in 1997, the NCFAA and its 25 awards now boast over 800 recipients, dating to 1935.

The National College Football Awards Association rolled out watch lists over a two week stretch for all of the major national awards. They include:

July 13 - Bednarik Award (watch list includes Shaun Wade)
July 14 - Davey O'Brien Award (includes Justin Fields)
July 15 - Doak Walker Award
July 16 - Biletnikoff Award (includes Chris Olave)
July 17 - John Mackey Award (includes Luke Farrell)
July 20 - Butkus Award (includes Pete Werner, Tuf Borland and Baron Browning) and Paycom Jim Thorpe Award (includes Shaun Wade)
July 21 - Bronko Nagurski Trophy (includes Shaun Wade) and Outland Trophy (includes Wyatt Davis, Josh Myers and Thayer Munford)
July 22 - Lou Groza Award (includes Blake Haubeil) and Ray Guy Award (includes Drue Chrisman)
July 23 - Paul Hornung Award and Wuerffel Trophy (includes Master Teague)
July 24 - Maxwell Award

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