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Oklahoma football: Two Sooners named to 2018 Maxwell Award watch list

By Chip Rouse

PASADENA, CA - JANUARY 01: Rodney Anderson #24 of the Oklahoma Sooners runs the ball down field for a 41 yard touchdown in the 2018 College Football Playoff Semifinal Game agains the Georgia Bulldogs at the Rose Bowl Game presented by Northwestern Mutual at the Rose Bowl on January 1, 2018 in Pasadena, California. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)
PASADENA, CA - JANUARY 01: Rodney Anderson #24 of the Oklahoma Sooners runs the ball down field for a 41 yard touchdown in the 2018 College Football Playoff Semifinal Game agains the Georgia Bulldogs at the Rose Bowl Game presented by Northwestern Mutual at the Rose Bowl on January 1, 2018 in Pasadena, California. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images) /
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Two Oklahoma football players have been named to the 2018 Maxwell Award preseason watch list.

Quarterback Kyler Murray and running back Rodney Anderson are among 84 players who are on the watch list for the 2018 Maxwell Award, presented annually to the best all-around player in college football.

Murray is expected to earn the starting QB assignment for head coach Lincoln Riley’s offense in 2018, although Riley has been firm that the starter’s job has not been decided. Regardless, Murray is not expected to play behind the coming season, having signed a Major League Baseball contract with the Oakland A’s, who drafted the Sooner dual-sport star with the No. 9 overall pick in the MLB Draft this spring.

NORMAN, OK – SEPTEMBER 02: Quarterback Kyler Murray #1 of the Oklahoma Sooners looks to throw against the UTEP Miners at Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium on September 2, 2017 in Norman, Oklahoma. Oklahoma defeated UTEP 56-7. (Photo by Brett Deering/Getty Images)
NORMAN, OK – SEPTEMBER 02: Quarterback Kyler Murray #1 of the Oklahoma Sooners looks to throw against the UTEP Miners at Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium on September 2, 2017 in Norman, Oklahoma. Oklahoma defeated UTEP 56-7. (Photo by Brett Deering/Getty Images) /

A former Gatorade National Player of the Year, Murray played in seven games last season as Baker Mayfield’s backup. He completed 18 of 21 passes for 359 yards and three touchdowns. His speed makes him a dual threat as a runner. He averaged over six yards per carry in one season at Texas A&M and 10.1 yards in 14 rushing attempts with OU last season.

Anderson, a redshirt junior,  missed virtually all of two seasons in 2015 and ’16 because of season-ending injuries, but he was healthy all of last season, and Sooner fans saw why OU coaches have been so high on him since his recruitment as a member of the Sooners’ 2015 class.

In 2017, Anderson led the Sooners and was fourth in the Big 12 with 1,161 rushing yards and 13 touchdowns. He capped last season with a 201-yard performance in the Rose Bowl against a stout Georgia defense that was ranked No. 5 in the country.

Sponsored by the Maxwell Football Club, the Maxwell Award has been presented every season since 1937. Two OU players are previous winners of the award, including last year’s winner, Baker Mayfield. Tommy McDonald was the first Sooner to win the award, as the honoree in 1956.

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