RENO, Nev. – Nevada sophomore quarterback Carson Strong has earned a spot on the preseason watch list for the Maxwell Award, which is presented annually to the most outstanding player in college football.
 
This is the first preseason watch list honor for Strong, although he has received other preseason recognition as Athlon Sports named him to its preseason All-Mountain West fourth team. He is one of 90 to earn a spot on the preseason watch list and is one of eight from the conference.
 
In his redshirt freshman season in 2019, Strong served as Nevada's primary starting quarterback, appearing and starting in 10 contests. He threw for 2,335 yards and 11 touchdowns on the year, completing 63.4 percent of his passes. Strong averaged 233.5 passing yards per game, good for fifth in the Mountain West. In his first-ever collegiate start, he helped Nevada knock off Purdue to start the season in a come-from-behind effort where he tossed three touchdowns, no interceptions and 295 yards. Strong threw a career-best 402 passing yards in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl against Ohio, where along with his 31 completions, were Nevada bowl game records.
 
The Maxwell Award has been presented to the College Player of the Year since 1937 and is named in honor of Robert "Tiny" Maxwell, a former standout at the Swarthmore College and a renowned sports writer and football official.
 
Semifinalists for the Maxwell Award will be announced Nov. 3, while the three finalists for the Maxwell
Award will be unveiled Nov. 23. The winner of the 2020 Maxwell Award will be announced as part of the ESPN Home Depot College Football Awards Show held on Dec. 10. The formal presentations of this award will be made at the Maxwell Football Club Awards Gala hosted by Tropicana Hotel & Casino Atlantic City on March 12, 2021.