Gamecocks Duo, Clemson’s Shipley on Maxwell Award Watch List

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) - South Carolina’s Spencer Rattler and Antwane Wells Jr. along with Clemson’s Will Shipley headline the nominees for the Maxwell Award Watch List that was released on Monday. The award goes to the best player in college football.

Coastal Carolina quarterback Grayson McCall also made the list.

Rattler, a 6-1, 217-pound quarterback from Phoenix, Ariz., threw for 3,026 yards and 18 touchdowns a season ago while completing 66 percent of his passes in his first season with the Gamecocks.

Wells, a 6-1, 208-pound wide receiver from Richmond, Va., was Rattler’s top receiving target, hauling in 68 passes for 928 yards and six touchdowns while earning first-team All-SEC honors.

Shipley is one of the nation’s most dynamic and versatile running backs who enters 2023 with 1,920 yards and 26 touchdowns on 359 career rushing attempts and 358 yards on 54 career receptions in 1,024 offensive snaps over 24 career games (19 starts) … also enters 2023 credited with 27 career kickoff returns for 704 yards (26.1 avg.) as well as one pass attempt for a two-yard touchdown … made an instant impact as a freshman in 2021 and followed that campaign with a 2022 season in which he became the first player in ACC history to be selected as a first-team All-ACC honoree in three different categories (running back, all-purpose and specialist) and was one of four finalists for the Paul Hornung Award (nation’s most versatile player) … joined Clemson’s Travis Etienne, Louisville’s Lamar Jackson and North Carolina’s Giovani Bernard as the only ACC players to rush for 11 or more touchdowns in both their freshman and sophomore campaigns since 2000 … two-time All-ACC Academic Team selection and academic standout who in 2022 became Clemson’s first Academic All-American since 2012 and the first Clemson running back ever to earn the honor.

McCall is a two-time Maxwell Award Semifinalist, earning the honor in both 2020 and 2021.

This preseason, McCall was once again named the 2023 Sun Belt Preseason Offensive Player of the Year and earned a spot on the Preseason All-Sun Belt first team, adding to his preseason accolades which include:

Last season, McCall’s 24 touchdowns to two interceptions ratio was among the leaders in all of FBS, while he also threw a touchdown pass in 23-straight games dating back two years. He also threw for over 245 yards in eight of 11 games played this year and had three touchdown tosses in six different games on the season. In 11 games in 2022, McCall completed nearly 70 percent of his passes (207-of-297) for 2,700 yards, 24 touchdowns, and just two interceptions. He also rushed 91 times for 195 yards and six scores. McCall ranked in the top 40 in all of NCAA Division I FBS in several offensive categories. He was third in passing efficiency (171.4), third in completion percentage (69.7 percent), fifth in yards per pass attempt (9.09), 18th in points responsible for per game (16.4), 29th in passing touchdowns (24), 30th in passing yards per completion (13.04), 32nd in points responsible for (180), and 40th in total offense (263.2 yards per game).