BYU Football: Taysom Hill and Jamaal Williams named to Maxwell Award Watch List

We are getting closer to the college football season, which means its now the time of year when preseason hype reigns with award watch lists starting to circulate an preseason polls just around the corner. The Maxwell and Bednarik Award watch lists became the first two of a number of watch lists that will be released by the National College Football Awards Association between now and July 18th.

The Maxwell Award honors the top college football player in the country and Bednarik Award honors the nation's best defensive player.

BYU quarterback, Taysom Hill, and running back, Jamaal Williams, were two of the 76 players selected from across the country on the watch list for the Maxwell Award. Hill threw for 2,938 yards and 19 touchdowns as a sophomore last season an added another 1,344 yards and 10 touchdowns running the ball. Williams ran for 1,233 yards and seven touchdowns in 2013.

BYU did not have a player make the Bednarik Award watch list.

The Cougars' 2014 opponents also have a number of players on these two lists. Boise State's Jay Ajayi (RB), Texas's Malcom Brown (RB) and Johnathan Gray (RB), UNLV's DeVante Davis (WR), Nevada's Cody Fajardo (QB), Cal's Jared Goff (QB), Utah State's Chuckie Keeton (QB), and Houston's John O'Korn (QB) and Deontay Greenberry (WR) all made the Maxwell list. Texas's Malcom Brown (DT), Cedric Reed (DE), Quandre Diggs (DB), Virginia's Eli Harold (DE) and Anthony Harris (S), Utah State's Kyler Fackrell (LB), and UCF's Terrance Pummer (LB) were all selected for the Bednarik list.

You can download the complete Maxwell and Bednarik Award watch lists here.