It’s officially college football award watchlists season. Over the past week, six of the awards have revealed candidates to watch for during the season.
While USC has been pretty much none existent on the national stage since the end of the Carroll era, the Trojans always have plenty of talent and so plenty of candidates on all the watchlists.
Maxwell Award
The two candidates for this prestigious award are sophomore quarterback Caleb Williams and junior wide receiver Jordan Addison.
Last season in seven starts at Oklahoma, Williams passed for 1,912 yards with 21 touchdowns and 4 interceptions. He also completed 64.5 percent of his passes and rushed for 442 yds and 6 TDs on 79 rushes.
Addison, last season at Pittsburgh, had 1,593 yds receiving and 17 TDs. He also rushed for 56 yds and a TD on seven att and had 185 punt return yds.
The award has been around since 1937 and USC has had three past winners. O.J. Simpson in 1968, Charles Raymond White in 1979 and Marcus Allen in 1981.
Simpson in 11 games rushed for 1,880 yards and 23 TDs on 383 attempts. He also had 26 receptions for 211 yards. White in 12 g rushed for 2050 yds and 19 TDs on 332 att. He also had 22 rec for 145 yds. Allen in 12 g rushed for 2427 yds and 22 TDs on 433 att. He also had 34 rec, a TD and 256 yds.
Davey O’Brien Award
Williams is the USC candidate for this award. Established in 1977 as the Davey O’Brien Memorial Trophy for the best player in the Southwest conference, it changed in 1981 to its current iteration as a QB award. USC has never had one of their players win it.
Doak Walker Award
The USC running back candidates are seniors Travis Dye and Austin Jones.
Last season at Oregon Dye rushed for 1271 yds and 16 TDs on 211 att. He also had 46 rec, 2 TDs and 402 yds. Jones last year at Stanford rushed for 378 yds and 2 TDs on 107 att. He also had 32 rec, a TD and 267 yds.
An award since 1990, only Reggie Bush in 2005 has won it for the Trojans. He rushed for 1740 yds and 16 TDs on 200 att. He also had 37 rec, 2 TDs and 478 yds.
Biletnikoff Award
Addison is the USC representative for this year’s watchlist. He’s actually already won it before, but it was during the 2021 season at Pitt. Since 1994 this award has been given to the most outstanding receiver. USC has had one winner in the past, Marqise Lee in 2012, Lee had 118 rec for 1721 yds and 14 TDs.
Mackey Award
Redshirt senior Malcolm Epps is the USC candidate for this award. A transfer from Texas in 2021, he had 10 rec for 173 yds and a TD. An award since 2000, only Fred Davis in 2007 has won it for USC. He had 62 rec for 881 yds and 8 TDs.
Rimington Trophy
Redshirt senior Brett Neilon is the candidate for this prestigious award. This upcoming year is his fourth season starting at center for the Trojans. The award has been around since 2000, USC has never had a winner.
Check out our coverage of USC football here at Gridiron Heroics. Here’s an article on why the hype train for USC is out of control.
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