Memphis paces the nation with three Maxwell Award Watch List selections

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – The Maxwell Award has been presented to the College Player of the Year since 1937 and this season wide receiver Damonte Coxie, running back Kenneth Gainwell and quarterback Brady White have earned a spot on its watch list the Maxwell Football Club announced Friday morning.

Memphis is one of only four programs in the nation (Memphis, Alabama, Indiana and Louisville) to lead the way with three student-athletes on the list. Only 17 other schools boast two candidates.

Throughout the last two weeks, Coxie, Gainwell and White have been named to their respective position group watch lists.

Biletnikoff Award Watch List – Damonte Coxie
Doak Walker Award Watch List – Kenneth Gainwell
Davey O'Brien Award Watch List – Brady White

Damonte Coxie, Wide Receiver
Coxie has posted back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons, becoming just the second Tiger (Anthony Miller) to do so in program history.

The Reserve, La. native finished 2019 with a career-high 1,276 receiving yards and helped lead Memphis to over 4,000 receiving yards for the second time ever.

Coxie eclipsed the 100-yard receiving mark in six contests last year, with five of those performances coming during the final seven games of the season. In Memphis' American Athletic Conference Championship win over Cincinnati, Coxie pulled in a season-high 165 yards on nine catches.

He enters this season with 11 career 100-yard receiving games, second only to Anthony Miller's 17.

Kenneth Gainwell, Running Back
As a redshirt freshman in 2019, Gainwell stepped into the season-opening win over Ole Miss following an injury to senior back Patrick Taylor. In that win, Gainwell carried the ball six times and caught one pass after Taylor's fourth-quarter injury, as part of a six minute and 21 second drive that sealed the victory.

Following a two-touchdown performance in the next game, Gainwell ripped off six consecutive 100-yard rushing games, a Memphis freshman record. In that stretch of games was a 200-yard receiving effort to compliment a 100-yard rushing performance game against Tulane. Against the Green Wave, Gainwell became the first player since 1997 to post a 200-100 effort, finishing with 203 receiving yards and 104 rushing yards.

With 610 yards receiving, Gainwell led the country in all-purpose yards by a freshman, finishing the season ninth with 2,069 yards (147.79 ypg).

He became just the third player in program history to record over 2,000 all-purpose yards in a single season. DeAngelo Williams accomplished that mark three times (2003, 2004 and 2005) while Darrell Henderson set the school record with 2,328 all-purpose yards in 2018, Gainwell's redshirt season at Memphis.

Brady White, Quarterback
In 2019, White threw for a career-high 4,014 yards and 33 touchdowns, becoming just the second quarterback in program history to eclipse 4,000 passing yards in a single season (Riley Ferguson – 4,257 in 2017). Against Penn State in the 84th Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic, the all-conference quarterback threw for a career-high 454 yards.

White was twice named a member of the Davey O'Brien Award Great 8 in 2019, recognizing individual performances during the season. His second nod came after throwing for 350 yards with three touchdowns in Memphis' 54-48 ranked victory over No. 15 SMU.

The Santa Clarita, Calif. native returns in 2020 as the only FBS quarterback with over 4,000 passing yards last season. White has 7,310 passing yards and 59 touchdowns in his career, totals that both rank in the top four in program history. Danny Wimprine is the program's all-time leader in passing yards (10,215) and touchdowns (81).

Memphis is set to take on Arkansas State in the 2020 season opener on Sept. 5 at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium.

University of Memphis Athletics

Memphis paces the nation with three Maxwell Award Watch List selections

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Players Mentioned

Damonte Coxie

Riley Ferguson

Darrell Henderson

Anthony Miller

Brady White

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