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Jackson, Watson split top college football awards

Lindyssports.com Staff

December 08, 2016 at 7:47 pm.

Nov 26, 2016; Clemson, SC, USA; Clemson Tigers quarterback Deshaun Watson (4) drops back to pass during the second quarter against the South Carolina Gamecocks at Clemson Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports

Nov 26, 2016; Clemson, SC, USA; Clemson Tigers quarterback Deshaun Watson (4) drops back to pass during the second quarter against the South Carolina Gamecocks at Clemson Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports

Louisville sophomore quarterback Lamar Jackson won the Maxwell Award on Thursday night as college football’s player of the year.

Jackson, one of five finalists for the Heisman Trophy that will be announced Saturday night, also was named the Walter Camp Player of the Year.

However, Jackson had to share top billing Thursday with Clemson’s Deshaun Watson, who surprisingly beat out the Louisville signal-caller to win the Davey O’Brien Award as the nation’s top quarterback.

Watson, also among the Heisman finalists, became the fourth player to win the O’Brien Award in consecutive years, joining Brigham Young’s Ty Detmer, Florida’s Danny Wuerffel and Oklahoma’s Jason White.

Jackson, the second player in FBS history to pass for 3,000 yards and rush for 1,500 yards in the same season (Jordan Lynch, Northern Illinois, 2012), praised his mother after beating out two other Heisman finalists — Oklahoma quarterback Baker Mayfield and Michigan linebacker Jabrill Peppers — for the Maxwell Award.

“I have to give all my credit to my mother,” Jackson said. “She’s a great mother, a father figure, loved me, helped me out a lot. I’m blessed.”

Jackson set an Atlantic Coast Conference record with 51 total touchdowns this season (30 passing, 21 rushing) after passing for 3,390 yards and rushing for 1,538 for the 13th-ranked Cardinals (9-3). He was named the ACC Player of the Year, beating out Watson, among others.

Watson finished third in the Heisman voting a year ago and led Clemson to the national championship game against Alabama. This season, he has 3,914 passing yards and 37 touchdowns while rushing for 529 yards and six more scores in guiding to the Tigers (12-1) to their second straight ACC title and a matchup against third-ranked Ohio State in the Fiesta Bowl on Dec. 31.

The 21-year-old Watson said the key to his success this season was “maintaining. All eyes on you … playing in the national championship against Alabama and having all the success we had against a great team but falling short, a lot of expectations were on us. We overcame it, and now we have another opportunity for that.”

Oklahoma’s Dede Westbrook, the fifth Heisman finalist, also came away with some hardware. The senior was named the Biletnikoff Award winner as the nation’s best receiver. Westbrook finished fourth in the country in receiving yards per game (122.1) after hauling in 1,465 yards and 16 touchdowns for the Sooners (10-2).

Texas endured a rocky season that culminated with the firing of head coach Charlie Strong, but D’Onta Foreman provided a signature moment when he took home the Doak Walker Award that goes to the best running back. Foreman led the nation with 2,028 rushing yards.

“I told myself before the season that I wanted to be a leader of that team no matter what, and the leaders don’t quit,” said Foreman, the third Texas running back to win the award. “You can’t quit whether you’re winning or losing, you’ve got to go out there whether a practice or a game and give it your all — and that’s what I did.”

Top-ranked Alabama (13-0) also was represented by a pair of winners on both sides of the line of scrimmage.

Senior defensive end Jonathan Allen was the recipient of the Bednarik Award, which goes to the defensive player of the year, while Crimson Tide left tackle Cam Robinson won the Outland Trophy as the top interior lineman.

Allen registered nine sacks and 56 tackles for Alabama, which will face No. 4 Washington in the College Football Playoff semifinal. He had four tackles and 1.5 sacks in the SEC championship game against Florida.

Robinson, projected to be a first-round pick in the 2017 NFL Draft, arrived at Alabama as a five-star recruit. He becomes the fourth Crimson Tide player to win the Outland.

Southern California’s Adoree’ Jackson won the Jim Thorpe Award as the top defensive back. Jackson finished the regular season with 51 tackles, four interceptions and 11 passes defensed.

Michigan’s Jake Butt was recognized as the nation’s top tight end, winning the John Mackey Award. Butt had 43 receptions for 518 yards and four touchdowns. More important, 29 of his catches gave the Wolverines a first down.

Punter Mitch Wishnowsky continued a tradition at Utah, giving the school its third straight Ray Guy Award. Following in the footsteps of Tom Hackett, Wishnowsky averaged 48.0 yards per punt, including a national-best 28 punts longer than 50 yards.

The Pac-12 also had the nation’s best placekicker, with Arizona State’s Zane Gonzalez taking home the Lou Groza Award. Gonzalez converted on 23 of 25 field-goal attempts, with his only two misses coming from 53 yards. He nailed a 59-yarder and tied an FBS record with three 50-yarders in one game.

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