Notre Dame football: Book, Okwara, and Kareem make Maxwell Watch List
By J.P. Scott
Three Notre Dame football players landed on the watch list for one of the most prestigious awards in college football.
The Notre Dame football team will have national player of the year candidates on both sides of the ball in 2019.
Quarterback Ian Book and defensive ends Julian Okwara and Khalid Kareem all landed on the watch list for the 2019 Maxwell Award on Monday.
Each year, the Maxwell Football Club presents the Maxwell Award for the College Player of the Year. This award is presented in honor of Robert W. (Tiny) Maxwell, legendary college player, official and sports columnist.
Voters for the Maxwell College Awards are NCAA Head College Football Coaches, members of the Maxwell Football Club & sportswriters and sportscasters from across the country.
With another solid run at the College Football Playoff, Ian Book should be considered a serious contender for the award. Book returns as one of the most efficient quarterbacks in the nation from 2018. As usual, the Notre Dame football schedule is loaded with high-profile matchups that will give him plenty of opportunity to impress national voters. That early game against Georgia will be huge.
Furthermore, the make-up of the offense from a personnel standpoint could very well dictate that he throws the ball more on first and second down. There will be plenty of opportunity for Book to put up impressive numbers.
As far as Okwara and Kareem, they’ll need to put up a season for the ages to be competitive. If either does that, the Irish are in for big things in 2019. The award rarely goes to defensive players. That said, the last defensive player to win the Maxwell was a Notre Dame football player — Manti Te’o.
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If Notre Dame’s defense can be historically good in 2019 — and either Okwara or Kareem is the face of the unit with the numbers to back it up — one of them could have a shot.