RENO — A pair of Nevada football student-athletes, sophomore Toa Taua and senior Gabe Sewell, have earned spots on watch lists for the Maxwell Award and Chuck Bednarik Award, respectively.
This is Taua’s first selection to the watch list for the Maxwell Award, which is presented annually to the college football player of the year.
Taua burst onto the scene in his rookie campaign, winning Mountain West Freshman of the Year honors.
In his first year with the Wolf Pack, Taua led the team with 872 rushing yards and ranked second with six rushing touchdowns. His 5.23 rush yards per carry during the regular season was fifth-best in the league.
Among freshmen, his 872 rushing yards ranked 10th nationally. He posted three 100-yard rushing games in 2018, including a season-best 170 yards on just 15 carries at Toledo.
Like Taua, this is Sewell’s first watch list selection for the Bednarik Award, which is given annually to college football’s top defensive player.
In his junior season, Sewell led the Wolf Pack with a single-season career-high 92 total tackles. He added another career high with 7.5 tackles for loss and 3.0 sacks. He also established a single-game career-high with 13 tackles against Boise State. Additionally, Sewell added two forced fumbles, a fumble recovery and two pass breakups to his numbers in 2018.
The Maxwell and Bednarik Awards are members of the National College Football Awards Association (NCFAA), which encompasses the most prestigious awards in college football. Founded in 1997, the NCFAA and its 25 awards now boast over 800 recipients, dating to 1935. Visit ncfaa.org to learn more about the association.
Semifinalists for the Maxwell and Bednarik Awards will be announced Oct. 29, while the three finalists for each award will be unveiled Nov. 25.
The winners of the 2019 Maxwell and Bednarik Awards will be announced as part of the Home Depot College Football Awards Show held on Dec. 12. The formal presentations of these awards will be made at the Maxwell Football Club Awards Gala hosted by Tropicana Hotel & Casino Atlantic City on March 13.
In addition, Taua was placed on the Doak Walker Award watch list.
This is Taua’s first selection to the watch list for the Doak Walker Award, which is presented annually to the nation’s top running back.
It marks Taua’s second watch list selection of the week as he was also placed on the Maxwell Award watch list on Monday.
Taua burst onto the scene in his rookie campaign, winning Mountain West Freshman of the Year honors.
In his first year with the Wolf Pack, Taua led the team with 872 rushing yards and ranked second with six rushing touchdowns.
His 5.23 rush yards per carry during the regular season was fifth-best in the league. Among freshmen, his 872 rushing yards ranked 10th nationally. He posted three 100-yard rushing games in 2018, including a season-best 170 yards on just 15 carries at Toledo.
The PwC SMU Athletic Forum Board of Directors will name 10 semifinalists in November, and three finalists, as voted on by the Doak Walker Award National Selection Committee, will be announced on Nov. 20.
The committee will cast a second vote beginning Dec. 2 to determine the recipient. The National Selection Committee consists of past recipients, former NFL All-Pro and college All-America backs, media members and selected special representatives.
The recipient of the 2019 Doak Walker Award will be announced live on The Home Depot College Football Awards on Thursday, Dec. 12 on ESPN.
