Quinn Ewers, Xavier Worthy named to Maxwell Award watch list
One of the surest signs that college football is nearly here is when national awards start releasing their preseason watch lists. The Maxwell Award, given annually to the college football player of the year, started the preseason rite of passage with their watch list on Monday. Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers and wide receiver Xavier Worthy were added to the preseason list.
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The Maxwell Award has been awarded annually since 1937, and four Longhorns have taken home the honor. Tommy Nobis was the program’s first winner in 1965. He was followed by Ricky Williams in 1998, Vince Young in 2005, and Colt McCoy in 2009. The Maxwell Award’s status as a player of the year award was part of the criteria for number retirement previously set out by former UT athletic director DeLoss Dodds. All four players have their numbers enshrined at Darrell K Royal – Texas Memorial Stadium.
Ewers, a sophomore from Southlake (Texas) Carroll started 10 games last year for the Longhorns after transferring from Ohio State. He was 172-of-296 for 2177 yards, 15 touchdowns, and six interceptions. He won six games as the starter, the third-most for a freshman in program history. Ewers missed several games after suffering an injury versus Alabama but returned to dominate Oklahoma with a 21-of-31, 289-yard, four-touchdown performance. Ewers was named the Longhorns’ 2023 starting quarterback by Steve Sarkisian in April.
Worthy, a junior from Fresno (Calif.) Central East, has surged up the Texas wide receiver record books since arriving on campus. He has started all 25 games in his career and has 21 touchdown catches, good for third in UT history. A second-team All-Big 12 selection in 2022 after garnering first-team honors in 2021, Worthy earned several freshman All-American honors for his debut campaign. He was the Big 12 offensive freshman of the year in 2021, and set freshman records for receivers in three categories. His sophomore season saw him step back statistically, due in part to playing the second half of the season with a broken hand. Worthy still lead Texas in every major receiving category.
Other Big 12 players to be named to the watch list include Baylor’s Richard Reese, BYU’s Kedon Slovis and Aidan Robbins, Houston’s Matthew Golden, Kansas’ Devin Neal and Jalon Daniels, Kansas State’s Will Howard, Oklahoma’s Dillon Gabriel, TCU’s Chandler Morris, Texas Tech’s Tyler Shough, and UCF’s John Rhys Plumlee.
