Gamecocks Place Two on Shaun Alexander Freshman of the Year Watch List

University of South Carolina wide receiver Nyck Harbor and linebacker Grayson “Pup” Howard are among the 37 players named to the watch list for the 6th annual Shaun Alexander Freshman of the Year Award, the Maxwell Football Club announced today.

The award is presented to the outstanding freshman player in college football. It recognizes the exceptional performance and impact made by these players on their respective teams throughout the season. The winning formula evaluates players based on Talent, Character, Ambassador and Legend.

Harbor is a 6-5, 241-pound receiver who prepped at Archbishop Carroll in Washington, D.C. where he starred as a two-sport athlete in football and track & field. Howard is a 6-4, 241-pound linebacker from Andrew Jackson High School in Jacksonville, Fla. He enrolled at South Carolina in January.

The Shaun Alexander Freshman of the Year Award has been presented to the College Freshman Player of the Year since 2018 and is named in honor of Shaun Alexander, a former standout at the University of Alabama and with the Seattle Seahawks in the NFL. Past winners include; Trevor Lawrence (Clemson) – 2018, Kenneth Gainwell (Memphis)-2019 and Will Anderson Jr. (Alabama) – 2020, Brock Bowers (Georgia) – 2021 and Drake Maye (North Carolina) 2022.

The Shaun Alexander Freshman of the Year Award watch list will incorporate a broad spectrum of Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) programs and conferences from coast to coast, with 37 candidates recognized. Texas leads the way with four candidates followed by Alabama and Oklahoma with 3 players each. Five other schools, including South Carolina, boast two candidates.