PHILADELPHIA — Western Michigan sophomore running back Jarvion Franklin has been identified for the Maxwell Award watch list by the Maxwell Football Club on Tuesday.

The Maxwell Award, named in honor of Robert W. “Tiny” Maxwell, has been given to America’s College Player of the Year since 1937. Maxwell’s contributions to the game of football were extensive, including time as a player, a sportswriter and an official.

Franklin heads into his second season after bursting on to the scene by winning the MAC Freshmen of the Year and the MAC Offensive Player of the Year, the only player in MAC history to win it in the same season. The Tinley Park, Illinois, native was also named a USA Today Freshman All-American after rushing for a MAC freshman record or 1,551 yards, also a WMU freshman record. Franklin finished second in rushing among freshmen and scored a total of 25 touchdowns.

Semifinalists for the Maxwell Award will be announced Nov. 2, with the three finalists being unveiled on Nov. 23. The 2015 Maxwell Award will be announced as part of the Home Depot College Football Awards Show held on Dec. 10.

The formal presentations of the award will be made at the Maxwell Football Club Awards Gala on March 11, 2016.

 

Paul Hornung Award

LOUISVILLE — The Louisville Sports Commission Monday named 44 multi-talented college football players to the 2015 Watch List for the Paul Hornung Award presented by Texas Roadhouse.

That list included Michigan State’s R.J. Shelton.

Shelton (Beaver Dam, Wisconsin) has 20 career catches for 179 yards and two touchdowns, and he also has rushed 42 times for 301 yards and four touchdowns.

Shelton is 11th among MSU’s career leaders in kickoff return yardage with 992.

The Paul Hornung Award, now in its sixth season, is given annually to the most versatile player in major college football by the Louisville Sports Commission and football legend and Louisville native Paul Hornung, the Golden Boy. The winner and his family will be honored at the annual Paul Hornung Award Banquet presented by KentuckyOne Health, to be held at the Galt House Hotel in downtown Louisville in February 2016.

The 2015 Watch List was compiled by a panel of college football experts based on a combination of 2014 statistics, career performance, SID recommendations and expectations heading into the 2015 season. Profiles of each player and information about the Award can be found at www.paulhornungaward.com. Players may be added to the Watch List during the 2015 regular season based on performance.

The Paul Hornung Award Watch List contains 18 of the top 100 all-purpose players from 2014 according to yards-per-game average from ncaa.com. The Watch List also includes four players who participated in the inaugural College Football Playoff Championship Game: Jalin Marshall and Dontre Wilson from Ohio State, and Byron Marshall and Charles Nelson from Oregon.

“I’m ecstatic that the Paul Hornung Award has gained national prominence in such a short time,” said Paul Hornung, the 1956 Heisman Trophy winner who played every position in the offensive backfield during his Notre Dame career and was a triple threat halfback for the title town Green Bay Packers of the early 1960s. “The quality of our winners, finalists and weekly honorees has been impressive, and I’m pleased that we are able to acknowledge outstanding players who contribute any way possible to help their teams win, the way I did with Notre Dame and the Green Bay Packers.”

The Watch List is comprised of 11 seniors, 22 juniors and 11 sophomores who start at a total of eight different positions and represent 40 universities and all 10 conferences that are part of the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). The Pac-12 leads the conferences with eight players followed by the ACC and Big Ten with seven players and the SEC with six players.

Players on this year’s Paul Hornung Award Watch List accounted for 9,606 rushing yards, 16,565 receiving yards, 17,941 kickoff return yards, 4,088 punt return yards and 588 total tackles in 2014.