Notre Dame Fighting Irish - Official Athletics Website

Book Named To Maxwell Award Watch List

NOTRE DAME, Indiana — University of Notre Dame graduate student quarterback Ian Book has been selected to the 2020 Maxwell Award Watch List. 

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

A 2019 team captain and Notre Dame Offensive Player of the Year, Book was named to the Davey O’Brien Award Great 8 List three times and the Manning Star of the Week twice last season. He finished the season 240-for-399 with 3,034 yards and 34 touchdowns, throwing just six interceptions. He also ran 112 times for 546 yards and four touchdowns. 

With his 2019 performance, Book became the first quarterback in Notre Dame history with at least 2,500 passing yards, 500 rushing yards and 30 TD passes in a season. Oklahoma’s Jalen Hurts was the only other FBS quarterback to reach those milestones in 2019. 

He had five games on the year with four or more passing TDs, the most in a Notre Dame football season, and was the first Irish quarterback ever to have multiple games with five touchdown passes in the same season (vs. New Mexico, Bowling Green and Navy in 2019) — not to mention becoming the first quarterback in Irish history to throw five touchdown passes in a singular half vs. Bowling Green. 

ABOUT THE MAXWELL AWARD

The Maxwell Award is presented annually to the college football player judged by a panel of sportscasters, sportswriters, and National Collegiate Athletic Association head coaches and the membership of the Maxwell Football Club to be the best all-around in the United States. The award is named after Robert “Tiny” Maxwell, a Swarthmore College football player, coach, and sportswriter. Notre Dame’s Johnny Lattner (1952, 1953) and Florida’s Tim Tebow (2007, 2008) are the only players to have won the award twice.

The Irish have had six players combine to win the Maxwell Award seven times. The Notre Dame award winners are Leon Hart (1949), Johnny Lattner (1952 & 1953), Jim Lynch (1966), Ross Browner (1977), Brady Quinn (2006) and Manti Te’o (2012).

ABOUT THE NATIONAL COLLEGE FOOTBALL AWARDS ASSOCIATION

The Maxwell Award is a member of the National College Football Awards Association (NCFAA), which encompasses the most prestigious awards in college football. Founded in 1997, the NCFAA and its 25 awards now boast over 800 recipients, dating to 1935. Visit ncfaa.org to learn more about the association.

The members of the National College Football Awards Association (NCFAA) are unveiling their preseason watch lists over a 12-day period this month. Seventeen of the association’s 25 awards select a preseason watch list, and the NCFAA has spearheaded a coordinated effort to promote each award’s preseason candidates. 

Following is the complete 2020 preseason watch list calendar:

Monday July 13: Chuck Bednarik Award (Kyle Hamilton, Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah)

Tuesday July 14: Davey O’Brien Award (Ian Book)

Monday July 20: Butkus Award (Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah)

Tuesday July 21: Outland Trophy (Aaron Banks, Liam Eichenberg, Jarrett Patterson)

Tuesday, July 21: Nagurski Award (Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah, Drew White)

Wednesday July 22: Groza Award (Jonathan Doerer)

Thursday July 23: Wuerffel Trophy (Daelin Hayes)

Friday July 24: Maxwell Award (Ian Book)