Concurrent with the release of the Bednarik Award watch list comes that of the Maxwell Award, which has been given annually to the overall player of the year in college football for nearly 80 years.

This year's list features three players from the Mountain West: Colorado State's Rashard Higgins, Utah State's Chuckie Keeton, and San Diego State's Donnel Pumphrey. Higgins exploded onto the national radar after a monster 2014 in which he was tenth in the FBS in receptions, first in receiving yards and touchdowns and eighth in yards per catch among those with at least 40 receptions.

Pumphrey was similarly dangerous spearheading the Aztecs' ground attack, finishing fourth in the nation in rushing yards, eighth in yards per carry (with a minimum of 200 carries), and ninth in touchdowns. Both he and Higgins are the likely frontrunners for the conference's preseason Offensive Player of the Year honor in the coming weeks.

Keeton, meanwhile, was also a watchlist entrant and the MWC's preseason OPoY before last season, but his 2014 campaign came with uneven results and then injury. He'll look to get healthy and productive once more as the Aggies figure to compete for the conference title once more.

The Mountain West did not have any Maxwell semifinalists last year, and former Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota won the award.