Pair of Buckeyes superstars land on Maxwell Award preseason watch list
COLUMBUS — Preseason watch list season is here. Ohio State, as usual, is heavily represented.
One of the most important preseason watch lists of the summer was released Monday morning, and a pair of Ohio State superstars are already gaining attention as potential winners. Junior wide receivers Marvin Harrison Jr. and Emeka Egbuka were both named to the prestigious Maxwell Award watch list on Monday.
They’re among the 84 players, 10 of which are from the Big Ten Conference, to be selected for that watch list.
Four Ohio State players have won the award. None have won it since Eddie George did it in 1995. The other three Buckeyes to win the award were Archie Griffin in 1975, Robert E. Ferguson in 1961 and Howard Cassidy in 1955. No Big Ten player has won the award since 2002 (Penn State’s Larry Johnson).
For Harrison and Egbuka, they’ve been gaining traction as the top wide receiver duo in college football for the entire offseason. Harrison was a first-team All-American last year after catching 77 passes for 1,263 yards and 14 touchdowns. Egbuka wasn’t far behind him, catching 74 passes for 1,151 yards and 10 touchdowns. Together they formed one of the top tandems in the country.
Harrison was snubbed for the Biletnikoff Award last season, which is given to the best receiver in college football. He finished second behind Tennessee’s Jalin Hyatt.
Now both Harrison and Egbuka are already on the preseason watch list for one of the most prestigious awards in college football, and they don’t even have a starting quarterback yet.
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It just shows how talented that duo is for the Buckeyes.
Ryan Day named to watch list for Dodd Trophy
Ryan Day was named to the Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Trophy preseason watch list earlier this offseason. The Dodd Trophy has been awarded to the top coach in college football every year since 1976.
The award ‘takes into consideration each program’s graduation rate, Graduation Success Rate (GSR), commitment to service and charity in the community, projected success for the 2023 season and Academic Progress Rate (APR),’ according to the Dodd Trophy website.
Only one Ohio State coach has ever won the prestigious coaching honor. Jim Tressel won it in 2002 when the Buckeyes beat Miami (Florida) for the national title.
Day is one of five Big Ten coaches on the watch list.
Day led the Buckeyes to an 11-2 record last season, landing them a trip to the College Football Playoff semifinal, where they nearly beat Georgia in the Peach Bowl. Since taking over at the start of the 2019 season, Day is 45-6 as the head coach of Ohio State. He has two bowl wins, a 2020 Sugar Bowl win over Clemson to send the Buckeyes to the national title game and the 2021 Rose Bowl win over Utah.
