CJ Carr, Darian Mensah and Jeremiah Smith Lead 2026 Maxwell Award Semifinalists as Bednarik List Is Also Named

The three names at the top of the Heisman betting board are all still alive for college football's other big trophy, too. The Maxwell Football Club announced its 18 semifinalists for the 2026 Maxwell Award on Tuesday, Nov. 10, and Notre Dame quarterback CJ Carr, Miami quarterback Darian Mensah and Ohio State receiver Jeremiah Smith all made the cut. The club named 18 semifinalists for the Chuck Bednarik Award, its defensive player of the year honor, on the same day.

Both lists get trimmed to three finalists on Nov. 24. The winners of the 90th Maxwell Award and the 32nd Bednarik Award will be revealed Dec. 11 during the ESPN Home Depot College Football Awards Show.

The 18 Maxwell Award semifinalists

Keelon Russell, QB, Alabama; Noah Fifita, QB, Arizona; Dylan Riley, RB, Boise State; Nate Sheppard, RB, Duke; Gunner Stockton, QB, Georgia; Conner Weigman, QB, Houston; Charlie Becker, WR, Indiana; Darian Mensah, QB, Miami; Malachi Toney, WR, Miami; CJ Carr, QB, Notre Dame; Jeremiah Smith, WR, Ohio State; Drew Mestemaker, QB, Oklahoma State; Trinidad Chambliss, QB, Ole Miss; LaNorris Sellers, QB, South Carolina; DeSean Bishop, RB, Tennessee; Jayden Maiava, QB, USC; Devon Dampier, QB, Utah; Gio Lopez, QB, Wake Forest.

Quarterbacks make up 12 of the 18 spots. There are three running backs and three receivers, and Miami is the only school with two names on the Maxwell list.

Mensah and Toney carry the Miami flag

Mensah's case is built on efficiency. Through nine games he has completed 76.8% of his passes for 2,694 yards, 28 touchdowns and just two interceptions, according to Miami. The school says he leads the country with an 89.1 ESPN Total QBR and has thrown at least three touchdown passes in eight of Miami's nine games.

Toney has 73 catches for 1,027 yards and 13 touchdowns in eight games, with five 100-yard outings. That includes the school-record 16 catches for 194 yards and three scores against Pitt. The timing is rough, though. ESPN reported this week that Toney suffered a high ankle sprain in practice and will be out for a few weeks, an injury Undrafted first tracked before the Notre Dame game.

Miami, now No. 5 in the AP Top 25, hosts Duke on Saturday at noon ET on ABC. That puts Mensah across the field from another semifinalist, Duke running back Nate Sheppard.

The Heisman crossover

Carr's spot looks a lot stronger than it did a week ago. He went 29 of 40 for 319 yards and three touchdowns in Notre Dame's 31-24 win over then-No. 1 Miami, and ESPN's Heisman Watch now lists him as the betting favorite at +220 on DraftKings, ahead of Mensah (+250) and Smith (+280).

Smith gives Ohio State a semifinalist in a season that has otherwise gone sideways for the Buckeyes, who fell to No. 21 in the AP poll. ESPN notes that Smith's production has dipped since quarterback Julian Sayin got hurt.

Oklahoma State's Drew Mestemaker might be the most interesting name on the list. ESPN says the sophomore leads the country with 29 touchdown passes and ranks second with 2,962 passing yards. Devon Dampier also made it after accounting for four touchdowns in Utah's win over BYU, and Utah now sits at a program-best No. 2 in the AP poll.

South Carolina's LaNorris Sellers is averaging 304.1 yards of total offense per game and has accounted for 24 of the Gamecocks' 37 touchdowns, per the school. Tennessee running back DeSean Bishop, who ran over Kentucky last weekend, has 1,066 rushing yards and 13 rushing touchdowns, both second in the SEC according to Tennessee.

The 18 Bednarik Award semifinalists

Luke Metz, LB, Alabama; Kingston Lopa, DB, Cal; Ashton Hampton, CB, Clemson; Gideon Lampron, LB, Colorado; KJ Bolden, DB, Georgia; Chris Cole, LB, Georgia; Tobi Osunsanmi, DL, Indiana; Cam Buffington, LB, Iowa; Princewill Umanmielen, DE, LSU; Kelley Jones, CB, Mississippi State; Xavier Lewis, DT, North Carolina; Leonard Moore, CB, Notre Dame; Xavier Gilliam, DL, Tennessee; Colin Simmons, EDGE, Texas; AJ Holmes Jr., DL, Texas Tech; Sammy Omosigho, LB, UCLA; Mason Posa, LB, Wisconsin; Cooper Catalano, LB, Wisconsin.

Seven linebackers lead the way, along with six defensive linemen and five defensive backs. Georgia, the new No. 1 in both the AP poll and the second CFP rankings, has two Bednarik semifinalists in Bolden and Cole to go with Stockton on the Maxwell side. That makes the Bulldogs the only program with three players across the two lists. Wisconsin also landed two Bednarik picks with its sophomore linebacker pair of Posa and Catalano.

Defenders worth knowing

Iowa linebacker Cam Buffington has 82 tackles through nine games, and his 47 solo stops lead the Big Ten, according to Iowa. He is the 10th Hawkeye named a Bednarik semifinalist, a list that includes Cooper DeJean, Jack Campbell and Josey Jewell.

Tennessee's Gilliam leads all SEC interior linemen with 31 pressures and has 11.5 tackles for loss and six sacks, per the school. That gives the Vols a semifinalist for each award, joining Alabama (Russell and Metz), Georgia, Indiana (Becker and Osunsanmi) and Notre Dame (Carr and Moore).

What comes next

The Nov. 24 cut to three finalists lands right as conference title races tighten, so a big Saturday or two could still swing both awards. For Carr, Mensah and Smith, it is also one more checkpoint in a Heisman race that changed leaders again this week.

Sources: Tennessee Athletics, Miami Athletics, South Carolina Athletics, Iowa Athletics, ESPN, Associated Press.

Photo: Miami Athletics (file photo from Oct. 31, 2026, at North Carolina).