Gray Named to Shaun Alexander Freshman of the Year Award Watch List

PHILADELPHIA  – Darius Gray of the University of South Carolina football team has been named to the watch list for ninth annual Shaun Alexander Freshman of the Year Award, presented by the Maxwell Football Club to the outstanding freshman player in college football.

Once again, this year, the award will be presented at the Maxwell Football Club Awards along with several of the other top awards in college and professional football. The event will be held on Saturday March 13, 2027, and hosted by the Coca Cola Roxy Theater in Atlanta, Ga.

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 the 2005 NFL MVP with the Seattle Seahawks. Past winners include; Trevor Lawrence (Clemson) 2018, Kenneth Gainwell (Memphis) 2019 and Will Anderson Jr. (Alabama) 2020, Brock Bowers (Georgia) 2021, Drake Maye (North Carolina) 2022, Caleb Downs (Alabama) 2023, Colin Simmons (Texas) 2024 and Julian Sayin (Ohio State) 2025.

Gray, a freshman offensive lineman from Chesterfield, Va., earned first team all-state honors on both the offensive and defensive lines as a senior at St. Christopher’s School in Richmond, Va. Gray was named the 2025 VISAA Defensive Player of the Year was a four-time member of the Virginia Prep All-League team. He participated in the Navy All-American Bowl and also played basketball at St. Christopher’s, where he earned Virginia Prep League co-Player of the Year honors as a junior after averaging 24.0 points, 14.0 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game.

Gray is one of 37 players on the watch list and one of 16 hailing from the Southeastern Conference.

The Gamecocks’ Dylan Stewart was named a finalist for the 2024 Shaun Alexander Freshman of the Year award while being a consensus Freshman All-American in his first year at Carolina.

Carolina opens the 2026 season on Saturday, Sept. 5 against Kent State. The game starts at 12:45 p.m., at Williams-Brice Stadium and the contest will be televised on SEC Network.

2026 Shaun Alexander Freshman Player of the Year Preseason Watch List

EJ Crowell, RB, Alabama

Jireh Edwards, S, Alabama

Keelon Russell, QB, Alabama

Tait Reynolds, QB, Clemson

Julian Lewis, QB, Colorado

Dallas Wilson, WR, Florida

Ben Hanks, CB, Florida

Talyn Taylor, WR, Georgia

Keisean Henderson, QB, Houston

Lamar Brown, DE, LSU

Zion Elee, EDGE, Maryland

Jackson Cantwell, OT, Miami

Somourian Wingo, WR, Miami

Savion Hiter, RB, Michigan

Andrew Babalola, OT, Michigan

Salesi Moa, WR, Michigan

Bralan Womack, S, Mississippi State

Danny Odem, CB, Nebraska

Will Black, OT, Notre Dame

Chris Henry, WR, Ohio State

Jay Timmons, CB, Ohio State

Cincere Johnson, LB, Ohio State

Caleb Cunningham, WR, Ole Miss

Gatlin Bair, WR, Oregon

Darius Gray, OL, South Carolina

Faizon Brandon, QB, Tennessee

Tyler Atkinson, LB, Texas

Richard Wesley, EDGE, Texas

Jermaine Bishop, WR, Texas

Aaron Gregory, WR, Texas A&M

Felix Ojo, OT, Texas Tech

Luke Wafle, EDGE, USC

Alex Graham, S, USC

Kelvin Obot, OT, Utah

Jared Curtis, QB, Vanderbilt

Kodi Greene, OT, Washington

Amari Latimer, RB, West Virginia

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