Penn State's Drew Allar, Nicholas Singleton Named to 2024 Maxwell Award Watch List

The Nittany Lions' quarterback, running back are preseason nominees for college football's player of the year.

Penn State Nittany Lions quarterback Drew Allar (15) congratulates running back Nicholas Singleton after a touchdown at Beaver Stadium. / Matthew O'Haren-USA TODAY Sports

College football watch-list season arrived Monday. First up, the Maxwell Football Club announced the preseason nominees for its namesake award, the Maxwell Trophy, presented to college football's outstanding player. Two Penn State football players made the first watch list.

Penn State quarterback Drew Allar and running back Nicholas Singleton are among the 80 football players named to the 2023 Maxwell Trophy watch list. The list includes five returning semifinalists: Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe, Georgia quarterback Carsin Beck, Liberty quarterback Kaidon Salter, Missouri receiver Luther Burden III and Oklahoma State running back Ollie Gordin II.

Penn State is among 15 schools with two candidates on the Maxwell Trophy watch list. Ohio State and Miami (Florida) lead with three. Former Washington quarterback Michael Penix Jr. won the Maxwell Trophy in 2023.

Allar has become something of a preseason darling. The Associated Press' Ralph Russo projected the Penn State junior as a first-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, linking him with the New York Jets. Meanwhile, Walter Football ranks Allar as the No. 4 overall quarterback in the 2025 draft class.

Andy Kotelnicki, Penn State's offensive coordinator, has spent the past six months getting to know his new quarterback. Kotelnicki said he has seen signs that Allar could have a big season.

"When you look at college football players, when you look at people that age, having a true hunger and willingness to want to improve and do everything right and do everything to maximize his college football experience, Drew embodies that," Kotelnicki said. "It's not like that for every kid. I've coached long enough now that I can say that with quite a bit of knowledge. So first of all, he's got an insatiable hunger to improve in every area that we've talked about."

Singleton, meanwhile, enters the season as the sixth-ranked back nationally, according to Ric Serritella's All Access Football newsletter. Serritella, who founded the NFL Draft Bible and developed a scouting platform used by all 32 NFL teams, ranked Singleton behind only North Carolina's Omarion Hampton, Michigan's Donovan Edwards, Ohio State's TreVeyon Henderson and Quinshon Judkins and Oklahoma State's Ollie Gordon on his preseason list of college football's top running backs.

A gritty, hard-nosed runner, Penn State back Nicholas Singleton flies under the radar for the Nittany Lions," Serritella writes in his newsletter. "He demonstrates physicality to gain the tough between the tackles yardage but also has the shake and bake required to cut it outside for big gains. The Reading, PA native is a high-powered locomotive who should become a well-known commodity by time draft season rolls around." 

Penn State opens the 2024 season at West Virginia on Aug. 31. Kickoff is scheduled for noon ET on FOX.

More Penn State Football

James Franklin goes in-depth on NIL, revenue sharing and more in this preseason Q&A

How the House vs. NCAA settlement will impact Penn State sports

Abdul Carter will play multiple positions on defense this season

Penn State on SI is the place for Penn State news, opinion and perspective on the SI.com network. Publisher Mark Wogenrich has covered Penn State for more than 20 years, tracking three coaching staffs, three Big Ten titles and a catalog of great stories. Follow him on X (or Twitter) @MarkWogenrich.