So, I was digging into these college football awards the other day, specifically the Maxwell Award and the Heisman Trophy. They both shout out the best player, but it seems they do it a bit differently. I got curious about how these two stack up against each other, so I started looking into it.
First off, I checked out how they pick the winners. It turns out, the Maxwell Award is decided by a bunch of folks like NCAA head coaches, sports info directors, and some media people, plus members of the Maxwell Football Club. The Heisman, though, it’s a different story with its own voting style.
Then I went back in time a bit. I found out that the Maxwell winner often snags the Heisman too, but not always. There have been a few surprises in recent years where the two awards didn’t go to the same guy.
- I noticed this one player, Ashton Jeanty, who just won the Maxwell Award. He’s a running back, and it’s been a while since a running back got that award – since Derrick Henry in 2015, to be exact.
- There’s also Travis Hunter. This guy is something else, playing both ways and doing great. He’s in the running for the Heisman, and people are saying he’s got a good shot. It got me thinking about how rare it is for someone who’s not a quarterback to win the Heisman.
I also looked at some numbers, like odds and stuff, for who might win the Heisman. There was this one quarterback, Dillon Gabriel, whose chances dropped a lot recently. It’s a tough race!
What I Realized
After all this digging, I realized that while these awards are similar, they have their own quirks. Winning the Maxwell doesn’t guarantee a Heisman, and vice versa. And it’s pretty cool to see non-quarterbacks getting recognized, like what might happen with Hunter this year.
Oh, and did you know Archie Griffin won the Heisman twice? That’s insane! He’s the only one to ever do that. And some Heisman winners even went on to play in other pro sports. It’s a wild world, these football awards!
