The college football world’s elite gathered in Atlanta at the College Football Hall of Fame for the 28th annual Home Depot College Football Awards Show. The night turned out to be a pretty eventful night for College Football Playoff representatives from Alabama, Oklahoma and Notre Dame all took home some major awards on Thursday evening.
Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa took home the first player of the year award prior to the start of the show when he was named the Walter Camp Player of the Year winner for the 2018 season. The last five Walter Camp award winners have gone on to win the Heisman Trophy, but we will have to wait until Saturday night to see if Tagovailoa keeps that streak going. The last four Walter Camp award winners also took home the Maxwell Award. Tagovailoa later made it five straight by closing out the evening’s presentation by being named the winner of the Maxwell Award. For a college football player, Tagovailoa has completed the first two legs of the player of the year triple crown with the Heisman Trophy on deck this weekend.
Tagovailoa wasn’t the only Alabama player taking home some hardware. Wide receiver Jerry Jeudy won the Biletnikoff Award, and Quinnen Williams won the Outland Trophy.
Some quick notes:
- Kyler Murray became the fifth Oklahoma quarterback to win the Davey O’Brien Award, following Baker Mayfield from last year. No school has more Davey O’Brien Award winners than Oklahoma.
- Georgia defensive back DeAndre Jordan became the first Georgia player to win the Jim Thorpe Award as the nation’s top defensive back.
- Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly won his second Home Depot Coach of the Year Award (he previously won it in 2009 at Cincinnati). He is the first two-time winner of the coaching award.
- Alabama wide receiver Jerry Jeudy was named the Biletnikoff Award winner, breaking a three-year run by the Big 12 since Alabama’s first Biletnikoff Award winner, Amari Cooper, won the award in 2014.
Here is a full list of the finalists and winners of awards handed out Thursday night. Winners of the awards are listed first and are in bold, with the remaining finalists following them in alphabetical order according to last name. Some of the awards were announced prior to the awards show but are included here because they were recognized or formally presented Thursday night.
WALTER CAMP PLAYER OF THE YEAR
- Tua Tagovailoa, Alabama
- Josh Allen, Kentucky
- Will Grier, West Virginia
- Gardner Minshew, Washington State
- Kyler Murray, Oklahoma
MAXWELL AWARD
(Player of the Year)
- Tua Tagovailoa, Alabama
- Will Grier, West Virginia
- Kyler Murray, Oklahoma
CHUCK BEDNARIK AWARD
(Defensive Player of the Year)
- Josh Allen, Kentucky
- Christian Wilkins, Clemson
- Quinnen Williams, Alabama
DAVEY O’BRIEN AWARD
(Best Quarterback)
- Kyler Murray, Oklahoma
- Gardner Minshew II, Washington State
- Tua Tagovailoa, Alabama
FRED BILETNIKOFF AWARD
(Outstanding Receiver)
- Jerry Jeudy, Alabama
- Andy Isabella, UMass
- Tyan Wallace, Oklahoma State
DOAK WALKER AWARD
(Best Running Back)
- Jonathan Taylor, Wisconsin
- Travis Etienne, Clemson
- Darrell Henderson, Memphis
JOHN MACKEY AWARD
(Best Tight End)
JIM THORPE AWARD
(Best Defensive Back)
- DeAndre Baker, Georgia
- Julian Love, Notre Dame
- Greedy Williams, LSU
OUTLAND TROPHY
(Most Outstanding Interior Lineman)
- Quinnen Williams, Alabama
- Christian Wilkins, Clemson
- Jonah Williams, Alabama
RIMINGTON TROPHY
(Best Center)
- Garrett Bradbury, NC State
- Sam Mustipher, Notre Dame
- Ross Pierschbacher, Alabama
LOU GROZA AWARD
(Outstanding Placekicker)
- Andre Szmyt, Syracuse
- Cooper Rothe, Wyoming
- Cole Tracy, LSU
RAY GUY AWARD
(Punter of the Year)
- Braden Mann, Texas A&M
- James Smith, Cincinnati
- Mitch Wishnowsky, Utah
HOME DEPOT COACH OF THE YEAR
- Brian Kelly, Notre Dame
WUERFFEL TROPHY
(Community Service)
- Drue Tranquill, Notre Dame
- David Blough, Purdue
- Dalton Risner, Kansas State