Malik Cunningham Named to Maxwell Award Watch List

The redshirt junior quarterback for Louisville is entering his third year as a starter.

(Photo of Malik Cunningham: Charles LeClaire - USA TODAY Sports)

Press Release from the University of Louisville:

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – University of Louisville quarterback Malik Cunningham was named to the watch list for the 85th Maxwell Award presented annually to the outstanding player in college football. The award is proudly sponsored by Mammoth Tech and The Athletes’ Corner, which are Executive Partners of the Maxwell Football Club.

Cunningham, who enters his third season as the starter, is coming off a productive 2020 season. The product of Montgomery, Ala., threw for a career best 2,615 yards and 20 touchdowns, while rushing for 609 yards and seven scores.

The redshirt junior averaged 293.1 yards of total offense, which ranked fourth in the Atlantic Coast Conference and 20th nationally. Cunningham rushed for 197 yards in a loss to Virginia and added 133 yards on the ground at Boston College. The 6-foot-2 signal caller threw for a career best 350 yards at home against Virginia Tech.

The Maxwell Award has been presented to the College Player of the Year since 1937 and is named in honor of Robert “Tiny” Maxwell who was a former standout at the Swarthmore College and a renowned sportswriter and football official.

The Maxwell Award watch list will once again incorporate a broad spectrum of Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) programs and conferences from coast to coast, and will feature fresh faces, as 2020 winner DeVonta Smith (Alabama) and finalists Trevor Lawrence (Clemson) and Mac Jones (Alabama) have all moved on to the NFL.

The list features six returning semifinalists from 2020 including Desmond Ridder (Cincinnati), Grayson McCall (Coastal Carolina), Breece Hall (Iowa State), D’Eriq King (Miami), Sam Howell (North Carolina), and Dillon Gabriel (UCF). The full list consists of 80 players, with 14 schools having two players represented.

The Maxwell Football Club has once again partnered with Pro Football Focus (PFF), XOS ThunderCloud and Phil Steele Publications as selection committee partners. PFF provides detailed metrics and performance-based assessments to selection committee staff, and several senior PFF analysts are members of our selection committee. Phil Steele’s College Football Preview is generally recognized as the most complete preseason magazine. XOS ThunderCloud provides the Maxwell Club selection committee with access to game footage from all FBS colleges.

Semifinalists for the Maxwell Award will be announced November 1, 2021, while the three finalists for the Maxwell Award will be unveiled November 22, 2021. The winner of the 2021 Maxwell will be announced as part of the ESPN Home Depot College Football Awards Show held on December 9, 2021. The formal presentations of the Maxwell Award will be made at the Maxwell Football Club Awards Gala hosted by Tropicana Hotel & Casino Atlantic City on March 11, 2022.

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