The Buckeyes are the only program in the country with three or more preseason selections.
Ohio State quarterback C.J. Stroud, running back TreVeyon Henderson and wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba were named on Monday morning to the preseason watch list for the Maxwell Award, which is given annually to the best all-around player in the country.
A redshirt sophomore from Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., Stroud threw for 4,435 yards and 44 touchdowns last season to be named a Heisman Trophy finalist and the Big Ten player, quarterback and freshman of the year.
Henderson – a five-star prospect from Hopewell, Va. – rushed for 1,248 yards and 15 touchdowns last fall. He also caught 27 passes for 312 yards and four more scores, breaking Maurice Clarett’s record for touchdowns scored by a freshman.
Smith-Njigba, last but not least, caught a school-record 95 passes for 1,606 yards and nine touchdowns in his second season out of Rockwall, Texas, including 15 catches for a bowl-record 347 yards and three touchdowns in the Rose Bowl win over Utah.
Stroud, Henderson and Smith-Njigba give the Buckeyes a nation-leading three players on the 85-man watch list for the Maxwell Award, which is named after former Swarthmore College guard Robert “Tiny” Maxwell.
Four Buckeyes have won the award in its 85-year history, including running back Howard “Hopalong” Cassady in 1955, fullback Bob Ferguson in 1961, running back Archie Griffin in 1975 and running back Eddie George in 1995.
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