Stroud, Harrison finalists for postseason awards
COVER PHOTO: Ohio State quarterback C.J. Stroud (left) celebrates with receiver Marvin Harrison, Jr. (right) after their eight-yard touchdown hookup in the first quarter against Toledo on Sept. 17. Picture by Sam Fahmi/Columbus Wired.
On Tuesday, the Ohio State athletics department announced that quarterback C.J. Stroud and wide receiver Marvin Harrison, Jr. were finalists for postseason awards. Stroud was announced as a finalist for both the Maxwell and Davey O’Brien awards while Harrison was named as one of the final three for the Biletnikoff Award.
The Maxwell Award is handed out by the Maxwell Football Club and is comparable to the Heisman Trophy, which is given to the nation’s best overall player. The Davey O’Brien is specifically awarded to the nation’s best quarterback. This is Stroud’s first nomination for the Maxwell and second in a row for the O’Brien after being named as a finalist last season.
Tennessee quarterback Hendon Hooker and USC QB Caleb Williams join Stroud for the Maxwell. Williams is also up for the O’Brien along with TCU QB Max Duggan.
The Biletnikoff Award is handed to the nation’s best receiver and is Harrison’s first nomination after his first season starting for the Buckeyes. Tennessee receiver Jalin Hyatt and Iowa State receiver Xavier Hutchinson are the other two finalists.
There have been four winners in the 85-year history of the Maxwell for Ohio State, the last being running back Eddie George in 1995. And there has been only Buckeye to win the O’Brien in the trophy’s 41-year existence, which was Troy Smith in 2006.
Since 1994 when the Biletnikoff was created, only one OSU player was named as a finalist and that was Terry Glenn in 1995, who also took home the hardware.
Even though Stroud’s stats haven’t necessarily looked as impressive as they did last year, he’s still had a strong 2022 campaign. He is first nationally in quarterback efficiency rating (176.25), is tied for first with 37 touchdown passes and is a leading contender to be named the Big Ten’s Offensive Player of the Year and Quarterback of the Year for the second consecutive year. He is also the first QB in conference history to have back-to-back seasons with 30 or more touchdown passes.
His 3,340 passing yards this season now rank No. 3 for a single season at Ohio State (third to his second-best 4,435 last year) and the two seasons combined now place him No. 2 at OSU for a career, besting Art Schlichter’s 7,547. Stroud is also second-best in career TD passes with 81.
Harrison, the son of NFL Hall of Fame wide receiver Marvin Harrison, Sr., has had an excellent sophomore season for the Scarlet and Gray. He led the team with 72 receptions, is tied for third nationally with 12 touchdown catches and eighth in receiving yards with 1,157. Those stats are now, respectively, sixth-best, tied for fifth and fourth-best at OSU for a single season.
Although those stats may not be overly gaudy compared to others from a national perspective, Harrison’s ability to make eye-popping catches throughout the season is what undoubtedly earned him a spot in the final three. Plus, having to split the workload with fellow sophomore receiver Emeka Egbuka somewhat put a dent in his final regular season stats. Egbuka caught only six passes less than Harrison (66) and also had over 1,000 yards on the season (1,039) while hauling in nine touchdowns.
Both receivers are now only the second duo in school history to have over 1,000 receiving yards in the same season with Egbuka’s performance coming at No. 9. Those stats were good enough for Egbuka to be named as a Paul Hornung Award finalist, which is given to a player that excels in certain areas on the field, including the ability to showcase themselves at more than one position. He had nine rushes for 81 yards and two touchdowns this year as well as 11 punt returns for 75 yards not including a 78-yarder for a score against Arkansas State that was negated due to illegal leaping over the line of scrimmage by linebacker Teradja Mitchell.
Those three join linebacker Tommy Eichenberg as awards finalists when “Eich” was named as one of the final three for the Lott Impact Trophy, which is given to the nation’s best overall defensive player.
His 72 solo tackles are good for second-best in the nation and his 112 total tackles are good for 20th.