Penn State Nittany Lions have more players on impressive national award watch list than any other program in college football originally appeared on A to Z Sports.

It’s no secret that the 2025 Penn State Nittany Lions are in prime position to be one of the best teams in all of college football. Why? For starters, three key offensive stars who could have (and perhaps should have) declared for the NFL Draft this spring decided to return for one more ride: QB Drew Allar, RB Nicholas Singleton, and RB Kaytron Allen.

Allar is fully expected to be one of the best quarterbacks in the nation. Singleton and Allen are considered by many to be the best backfield duo in the country. Now all three Penn State studs find themselves on the Maxwell Award Watch List this year.

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Penn State boasts most Maxwell Award Watch List players in all of college football

For those unfamiliar with the Maxwell Award, it is presented to the “college football player of the year”. This differs slightly from the Heisman Trophy, but quite often overlaps in recent years.

Thanks to Penn State’s impressive trio of offensive playmakers, the Nittany Lions boast the most Maxwell Award Watch List players in the nation (with three). A few other schools have two players that made the list, but no other program in the country has three. That’s how special this offensive cast is this year for Penn State.

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Drew Allar finished the 2024 season ranked inside the top ten via most every single meaningful rate stat imaginable as he scored 30 total touchdowns and averaged nearly nine adjusted yards per pass attempt last season. Both Nicholas Singleton and Kaytron Allen racked up over 1250 yards from scrimmage and double-digit touchdowns. All three players have already impressed now for multiple seasons. Still, how could any one of them actually pull off winning the Maxwell Award this year?

If we look at the most recent winners (Ashton Jeanty, Michael Penix Jr., Caleb Williams, Bryce Young, DeVonta Smith, Joe Burrow), it usually requires an absolutely special season filled with high impact nationally relevant moments and phenomenal statistical thresholds specific to their position(s).

For Singleton and Allen, one of them would likely need to put together over 2200 yards from scrimmage. That’s been the typical historical threshold when running backs have won the award this century.

Drew Allar simply has to prove that he is the best, most productive quarterback in the nation on the best team. That might be tough considering how often Penn State runs the ball, but voters on the Maxwell have also favored high leverage game performance for players whose teams have perhaps fallen just short of greatness. Michael Penix in 2023, Caleb Williams in 2022, and Lamar Jackson in 2016, to name a couple recent examples that fit that bill.

Regardless of whether any one of these Penn State stars ultimately wins the award, it’s impressive to see three players from the same team make the list for this prestigious award.

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This story was originally reported by A to Z Sports on Aug 1, 2025, where it first appeared.