Iowa QB Nate Stanley makes Maxwell Award 'watch list' for second straight year

Iowa senior quarterback Nate Stanley has been named to the 2019 Maxwell Award "watch list."

The Maxwell Award is presented annually to the best player in college football. Stanley is one of 11 Big Ten Conference players and four Big Ten quarterbacks named to the 80-player list. It’s Stanley’s second consecutive year on the watch list.

Stanley (6-foot-4, 243 pounds) passed for 2,852 yards and 26 touchdowns — the second-most in the Big Ten and 22nd-most in the country — last season. Stanley’s 52 career touchdowns rank fourth in program history and are the most by a Hawkeye over a two-year span. The Menomonie, Wisconsin, native also ranks ninth in career passing yards (5,351) and total offense (5,240).

As Iowa’s offensive team captain, Stanley set an Iowa bowl record for longest pass with a 75-yard touchdown in Iowa’s 2019 Outback Bowl win over No. 18 Mississippi State.

Two Hawkeyes — Nile Kinnick in 1939 and Chuck Long in 1985 — have won the Maxwell award, while former quarterback Ricky Stanzi was the most recent semifinalist in 2010. Quarterbacks have won the award in nine of the last 11 years, including Alabama’s Tua Tagovailoa last season.

Established in 1937, the Maxwell Award is named in honor of Robert W. “Tiny” Maxwell for his extensive contributions to the game of football as a player, sportswriter and official.

Semifinalists for the award will be announced Oct. 29, while finalists will be revealed Nov. 19. The winner will be announced Dec. 12.

Mark Emmert covers University of Iowa athletics for the Des Moines Register and Iowa City Press-Citizen.