Penn State leads the way on Maxwell Player of the Year watchlist

When Penn State football returns to the practice field this week, it will do so with three early candidates for the country’s most outstanding player.

On Monday afternoon, Drew Allar, Nicholas Singleton, and Kaytron Allen were among the 80 players named to the Maxwell Award watchlist for the 2025 season. Presented annually since 1937, the Maxwell Award recognizes the top player in the FBS each season.

With a trio of Nittany Lions named to the Player of the Year watchlist, the Blue and White stand a notch above the rest of the nation heading into the fall. An additional 16 teams had two players make the cut. Indiana and Washington were the only other Big Ten programs with multiple players represented. This year’s watchlist also includes Clemson’s Cade Klubnik and Vanderbilt’s Diego Pavia, a pair of semifinalists for last season’s award.

© Maxwell Football Club.

Allar, Singleton, and Allen were also among the vote-getters in the Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year poll released last week, the most of any school. The plethora of preseason praise has continued to pour in all summer for the Nittany Lions, widely viewed as having one of the most talented rosters in the country.

“This is the best combined personnel that I think we’ve had at Penn State,” James Franklin said at Big Ten Media Days last week. “And when I talk about personnel, I’m talking about players and staff – from a depth and talent standpoint and from an experience standpoint. So we’re very excited about that.”

Monday’s announcement begins the unveiling of 16 preseason watchlists for national awards over the next two weeks:

• July 28: Maxwell Award
• July 29: Outland Trophy and Bronko Nagurski Trophy
• July 30: Jim Thorpe Award and Butkus Award
• July 31: Paul Hornung Award and Wuerffel Trophy
• August 1: Lou Groza Award and Ray Guy Award
• August 4: Walter Camp Award
• August 5: Doak Walker Award
• August 6: Biletnikoff Award
• August 7: Davey O’Brien Award
• August 8: Mackey Award and Rimington Trophy
• August 11: Bednarik Award

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