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University of Massachusets Athletics
Photo by: Chris Tucci - UMass Athletics
Merriweather Named To Maxwell Award Watch List
July 18, 2022 | Football
The award is presented annually to the most outstanding player in college football.
SOUTHAMPTON, Pa. – University of Massachusetts running back Ellis Merriweather has been named to the Maxwell Award Watch List, announced by the Maxwell Football Club on Monday morning.
Merriweather, a redshirt senior from Alpharetta, Georgia, is one of 85 FBS players, including one of three Division I FBS Independent teams, on the watch list for the 86th Maxwell Award presented annually to the outstanding player in college football.
An East-West Shrine Bowl 1000 list selection and a 2022 Phil Steele Preseason Independent All-Conference First Team member, Merriweather completed the 2021 season as Massachusetts' first 1,000-yard rusher in the program's FBS era, while accumulating 1,303 all-purpose yards and six touchdowns. He recorded 218 consecutive carries without any fumbles and totaled a career-high 39 carries for 171 yards and two touchdowns, leading UMass to its first victory of the 2021 season. Merriweather also established a new school single-season record, posting 100 or more rushing yards in seven contests, including 749 yards in the last five games of the year alone. The redshirt senior put up a career best 177 yards against Rhode Island (11/13) and capped the year with the longest touchdown of his career at 79 yards at New Mexico State (11/27).
Closing out the 2021 year, Merriweather received 2021 Phil Steele All-Independent Second Team honors.
The Maxwell Award has been presented to the College Player of the Year since 1937 and is named in honor of Robert "Tiny" Maxwell, who was a former standout at the Swarthmore College and a renowned sports writer and football official.
The Maxwell Football Club has once again partnered with Pro Football Focus (PFF), XOS and Phil Steele Publications as selection committee partners. PFF provides detailed metrics and performance-based assessments to selection committee staff, and several senior PFF analysts are members of the selection committee. Phil Steele's College Football Preview is generally recognized as the most complete preseason magazine. XOS provides the Maxwell Club selection committee with access to game footage from all FBS colleges.
Semifinalists for the Maxwell Award will be announced November 1, while the three finalists for the Maxwell Award will be unveiled November 22. The winners of the 86th Maxwell Award will be announced as part of the ESPN Home Depot College Football Awards Show held on December 8. The formal presentations of the Maxwell Award will be made at the Maxwell Football Club Awards live from Atlantic City, New Jersey, on March 10, 2023.
The Minutemen begin the year with a trip to Tulane on Saturday, September 3, at 7 p.m., and will compete at McGuirk Alumni Stadium for the first time on Saturday, September 17, against Stony Brook.
Single game tickets for the 2022 football season will go on sale for the general public on Tuesday, July 19, through the UMass Athletics Ticket Office. For more information, click here.
Merriweather, a redshirt senior from Alpharetta, Georgia, is one of 85 FBS players, including one of three Division I FBS Independent teams, on the watch list for the 86th Maxwell Award presented annually to the outstanding player in college football.
An East-West Shrine Bowl 1000 list selection and a 2022 Phil Steele Preseason Independent All-Conference First Team member, Merriweather completed the 2021 season as Massachusetts' first 1,000-yard rusher in the program's FBS era, while accumulating 1,303 all-purpose yards and six touchdowns. He recorded 218 consecutive carries without any fumbles and totaled a career-high 39 carries for 171 yards and two touchdowns, leading UMass to its first victory of the 2021 season. Merriweather also established a new school single-season record, posting 100 or more rushing yards in seven contests, including 749 yards in the last five games of the year alone. The redshirt senior put up a career best 177 yards against Rhode Island (11/13) and capped the year with the longest touchdown of his career at 79 yards at New Mexico State (11/27).
Closing out the 2021 year, Merriweather received 2021 Phil Steele All-Independent Second Team honors.
The Maxwell Award has been presented to the College Player of the Year since 1937 and is named in honor of Robert "Tiny" Maxwell, who was a former standout at the Swarthmore College and a renowned sports writer and football official.
The Maxwell Football Club has once again partnered with Pro Football Focus (PFF), XOS and Phil Steele Publications as selection committee partners. PFF provides detailed metrics and performance-based assessments to selection committee staff, and several senior PFF analysts are members of the selection committee. Phil Steele's College Football Preview is generally recognized as the most complete preseason magazine. XOS provides the Maxwell Club selection committee with access to game footage from all FBS colleges.
Semifinalists for the Maxwell Award will be announced November 1, while the three finalists for the Maxwell Award will be unveiled November 22. The winners of the 86th Maxwell Award will be announced as part of the ESPN Home Depot College Football Awards Show held on December 8. The formal presentations of the Maxwell Award will be made at the Maxwell Football Club Awards live from Atlantic City, New Jersey, on March 10, 2023.
The Minutemen begin the year with a trip to Tulane on Saturday, September 3, at 7 p.m., and will compete at McGuirk Alumni Stadium for the first time on Saturday, September 17, against Stony Brook.
Single game tickets for the 2022 football season will go on sale for the general public on Tuesday, July 19, through the UMass Athletics Ticket Office. For more information, click here.
Players Mentioned
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