PRESS RELEASE

Shaun Alexander Freshman of the Year Award Winner Announcement

December 27, 2022 – PHILADELPHIA, PA
FOR IMMEDIATE DISTRIBUTION

Shaun Alexander Freshman of the Year Award Winner Announcement

The Maxwell Football Club announced that University of North Carolina quarterback Drake Maye has been selected as the 5th annual Shaun Alexander Freshman of the Year Award winner presented to the outstanding freshman player in college football. The award will be presented at the Maxwell Football Club Awards Gala along with many of the other top awards in college and professional football.

Maye, a Huntersville, N.C. native. becomes the first Tar Heel to garner the honor and is the second player from the ACC to earn the accolade, joining 2018 winner Trevor Lawrence of Clemson. Brock Bowers (Georgia), Will Anderson Jr. (Alabama), and Kenneth Gainwell (Memphis) have also won the Shaun Alexander Freshman of the Year Award since its inception in 2018.

In his first season as a starter, Maye has completed 324-of-482 passes (67.2%) for 4,155 yards and 35 TDs. The 3,847 yards rank second in the Power 5 and are already UNC’s single-season record, while the 35 TDs are tied for second in the Power 5. Maye also leads the team in rushing with 650 yards and 7 TDs. His 366.8 yards per game of total offense ranks second the nation and his 42 TDs responsible is tied for second with Oregon’s Bo Nix amongst Power 5 players.

Maye threw for 280 or more yards and two or more TDs in the first 10 games of the 2022 season. Since 2004, no other ACC QB has done that in any 8-game stretch, much less 10, and no true or redshirt freshman has done it at any FBS school. Only two QBs (playoff era) had longer streaks, Bailey Zappe (Western Kentucky) with 14 in 2021 and Baker Mayfield (Oklahoma) with 12 from 2016-17.

Maye is just the ninth QB since 2010 to post 3,500 pass yards, 35 pass TDs, 500 rush yards, and 5 rush TDs in a season. The others are Robert Griffin III, Tajh Boyd, Johnny Manziel, Marcus Mariota, Deshaun Watson (twice), McKenzie Milton, Kyler Murray and Trevor Lawrence. The Shaun Alexander Freshman of the Year Award has been presented to the College Freshman Player of the Year since 2018 and is named in honor of Shaun Alexander, a former standout at the
University of Alabama and with the NFL’s Seattle Seahawks.

 

 

“Drake Maye’s talent is undeniable and when you watch him, he just jumps off the field. When I had the opportunity to learn about Drake as a teammate and a person it was obvious that he was the type of player I would want to carry on the tradition of the Shaun Alexander Freshman Player of the Year Award”
– Shaun Alexander

The formal presentations of the Shaun Alexander award will be made at the Maxwell Football Club Awards Gala hosted by Mohegan Pennsylvania on Thursday March 9, 2023. Tickets for the 86th Maxwell National Awards Gala are on sale at https://maxwellfootballclub.org/purchase-tickets/. Questions concerning the 2022 Shaun Alexander Award can be directed to MFC Executive Director Mark Wolpert mwolpert@maxwellfootballclub.org or MFC Director of College Awards Rich Cirminiello rcirminiello@maxwellfootballclub.org.

PRESS RELEASE

Shaun Alexander Freshman of the Year Award Finalist Announcement

December 1, 2022 – Philadelphia, PA

The Maxwell Football Club today announced 5 finalists for the 5th annual Shaun Alexander Freshman of the Year Award presented to the outstanding freshman player in college football. The award will be presented at the Maxwell Football Club Awards Gala along with several of the other top awards in college and professional football.

The Shaun Alexander Freshman of the Year Award has been presented to the College Freshman Player of the Year since 2018 and is named in honor of Shaun Alexander, a former standout at the University of Alabama and with the Seattle Seahawks in the NFL. Past winners include; Trevor
Lawrence (Clemson) – 2018, Kenneth Gainwell (Memphis)-2019, Will Anderson Jr. (Alabama) – 2020 and Brock Bowers (Georgia) 2021.

The Shaun Alexander Freshman of the Year Award finalists are listed below in alphabetical order by school.

 

Malaki Starks – DB – Georgia

Harold Perkins Jr. – LB – LSU

Drake Maye – QB – North Carolina

Quinshon Judkins – RB – Ole Miss

Abdul Carter – LB – Penn State

 

The winner of the 5th annual Shaun Alexander Freshman of the Year award will be unveiled December 29th 2022. The formal presentations of these awards will be made at the Maxwell Football Club Awards in March 2023. Questions concerning the 2022 Shaun Alexander Award watch list can be directed to MFC Executive Director Mark Wolpert mwolpert@maxwellfootballclub.org or MFC Director of College Awards Rich Cirminiello rcirminiello@maxwellfootballclub.org.

ABOUT THE MAXWELL FOOTBALL CLUB – The Maxwell Football Club was founded in 1935 and is the oldest football organization of its kind in America. The Club recognizes excellence in performance at the high school, collegiate and professional levels of the game. The Maxwell Club is
also deeply involved and fully vested in the community through programs to promote academic excellence, community volunteerism, and leadership. High school student-athletes around the country have an opportunity to participate in MFC Showcase events, free of charge, through the generosity of our corporate partners, Montage Mountain Resort, Ivy Rehab, The Buccini Pollin Group, the Edward T. Coombs Foundation and the Run Around Inc. To learn more about our story visit http://www.maxwellfootballclub.org.

 

Shaun Alexander Freshman of the Year Award Semi-Finalist Announcement

November 3, 2022- Philadelphia, PA

The Maxwell Football Club today announced 14 semifinalists for the 5 th annual Shaun Alexander Freshman of the Year Award presented to the outstanding freshman player in college football. For the second consecutive year the award will be presented at the Maxwell Football Club Awards Gala along with several of the other top awards in college and professional football.

The Shaun Alexander Freshman of the Year Award has been presented to the College Freshman Player of the Year since 2018 and is named in honor of Shaun Alexander, a former standout at the University of Alabama and with the Seattle Seahawks in the NFL. The award Past winners include; Trevor Lawrence (Clemson) – 2018, Kenneth Gainwell (Memphis) – 2019, Will Anderson Jr. (Alabama) – 2020 and Brock Bowers (Georgia) – 2021.

The Shaun Alexander Freshman of the Year Award watch list will incorporate a broad spectrum of Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) programs and conferences from coast to coast led by LSU with 2 candidates and 12 schools represented by one candidate. The Shaun Alexander Freshman of the Year Award semifinalists are listed below alphabetically by
school.

Terrion Arnold – DB- Alabama

Tetairoa McMillan – WR – Arizona

Richard Reese – RB – Baylor

Malaki Starks – DB – Georgia

Gabe Jacas – LB – Illinois

Deone Walker – DL – Kentucky

Harold Perkins Jr. – LB – LSU

Will Campbell – OL – LSU

Jaishawn Barham – LB – Maryland

Drake Maye – QB – North Carolina

Quinshon Judkins – RB – Ole Miss

Abdul Carter – LB – Penn State

Nick Emmanwori – DB – South Carolina

Kelvin Banks Jr. – OL – Texas

Finalists for the 5th annual Shaun Alexander Freshman of the Year award will be December 6, 2022 and the winner of the award will be announced on December 29, 2022. The formal presentation of this award will be made at the Maxwell Football Club Awards Gala in March of 2023.

Questions concerning the 2022 Shaun Alexander Award watch list can be directed to MFC Executive Director Mark Wolpert mwolpert@maxwellfootballclub.org or MFC Director of College Awards Rich Cirminiello rcirminiello@maxwellfootballclub.org.