Inside The Huskies

Williams, Coleman Turn Up On Maxwell Award Watch List

This award was given to UW quarterback Michael Penix Jr. in 2023.
Dan Raley|
Demond Williams Jr. hands off to Jonah Coleman against Oregon.
Demond Williams Jr. hands off to Jonah Coleman against Oregon. | Skylar Lin Visuals

The Maxwell Award, considered the poor man's Heisman Trophy, unveiled 80 candidates on its initial watch list on Monday and University of Washington quarterback Demond Williams Jr. and running back Jonah Coleman were among them.

Given to the nation's top college football player, this award previously has looked favorably upon Husky football players -- quarterback Michael Penix Jr. was the 2023 winner.

This time, the entire UW starting offensive backfield is represented early on in Williams, the 5-foot-11, 190-pound sophomore from Chandler, Arizona, and in Coleman, the 5-foot-9, 223-pound senior from Stockton, California.

The UW was one of 17 schools that had multiple players land on the watch list for the 89th Maxwell Award, with Penn State leading the way with three players in quarterback Drew Allar and running backs Nicholas Singleton and Krayton Allen, while the others had two each.

Curiously, schools such as Alabama, Georgia, Iowa, Michigan, Notre Dame, Nebraska, Oregon and Ohio State were limited to just one Maxwell candidate each.

Equally notable was Oregon State was one of the schools with two recipients, in quarterback Maalik Murphy and running back Anthony Hankerson, compared to the cross-state Ducks, who offered up only running back Makhi Hughes.

Denzel Boston (12) and Jonah Coleman (1) share in a 2024 UW touchdown celebration.
Denzel Boston (12) and Jonah Coleman (1) share in a 2024 UW touchdown celebration. | Skylar Lin Visuals

The UW's Coleman comes off a 1,053-yard rushing season while operating behind a patchwork offensive line and is expected to pile up much bigger numbers in running with an upgrade in blockers this coming campaign. He was a third-team All-Big Ten selection last season.

Williams, next up at Husky quarterback after two starts as a freshman, might be the fastest signal-caller nationwide with his 4.3-second speed over 40 yards. He's coming off a Sun Bowl performance in which he threw 4 touchdown passes and ran for a fifth in a 35-34 loss to Louisville.

The Maxwell Award has been given out every year since 1937 and is named for Robert "Tiny" Maxwell, a former college player and later a football official and a sportswriter. The winner will be announced on ESPN on December 11.

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Dan Raley
DAN RALEY

Dan Raley has worked for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, as well as for MSN.com and Boeing, the latter as a global aerospace writer. His sportswriting career spans four decades and he's covered University of Washington football and basketball during much of that time. In a working capacity, he's been to the Super Bowl, the NBA Finals, the MLB playoffs, the Masters, the U.S. Open, the PGA Championship and countless Final Fours and bowl games.

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