A newcomer and a veteran from UCF football named to Maxwell Award watch list

College football season is almost here and college football fans can almost taste the feeling of tailgates and touchdowns. With a new season comes new watch lists for all the awards that will be handed out at the end of the season.

The Maxwell Award watch list is the first one to drop as it is given to the most outstanding college football player making them the College Player of the Year. Last year, the Maxwell Award went to 2024 first-round NFL Draft pick Michael Penix Jr. from Washington, who is now in training camp with the Atlanta Falcons.

Two UCF Knights were named to the Maxwell Award watch list for the 2024 season. Newcomer quarterback KJ Jefferson and veteran running back RJ Harvey were both named to the list as players to watch to take over college football.

Jefferson comes to UCF as a transfer quarterback from Arkansas in his sixth year of college football. Jefferson brings a look to UCF that the Knights have not had in a while. Nothing against John Rhys Plumlee, Dillon Gabriel, or McKenzie Milton, but Jefferson is a bigger-bodied quarterback who can be very physical in the run game.

Jefferson also has a great arm with amazing accuracy and if he can bring back the stats he had in his second and third years with the Razorbacks, he could help lead UCF to a Big 12 Championship and a College Football Playoff appearance.

Harvey is a player very well known in the UCF football program. Fans have fallen in love with the once-former quarterback because of his ability to not just run hard but to break through a hole in the defensive line or break tackles and go off for a big run.

Harvey was one of the biggest parts of UCF's offense last season, especially with the injuries to Plumlee and what seemed like a revolving door of quarterbacks for the Knights. Harvey finished the season in the top five of every running back stat in the Big 12 and is coming back to do it again and maybe even finish at the top.

UCF was projected to finish eighth in the Big 12 this season, but with Harvey and Jefferson on the offensive side of the ball, they are hoping to finish a lot higher if not at the top.