Boyd’s numbers puts him on watch list Friday for Maxwell Award

FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas running back Rakeem Boyd added another preseason honor to his resume, as the senior has been named to the Maxwell Award watch list.

The award is presented annually to the college football player of the year and will be awarded for the 84th time at the conclusion of this season.

Boyd ran 184 times for 1,133 yards and eight touchdowns last season, leading the Razorbacks in rushing yards for the second consecutive season.

The Houston, Texas, native ranked fourth in the SEC and 27th nationally averaging 94.4 yards per game on the ground; in addition, Boyd’s 6.4 yards per carry ranked ninth in the conference. On just eight carries, he rushed for a career-best 185 yards against Western Kentucky, averaging 23.1 yards per attempt, including two touchdown runs of 76 and 86 yards with the latter being a season-long.

Boyd joined Clemson’s Travis Etienne and LSU’s Clyde Edwards-Helaire as the only backs in the country to record over 180 rushing yards and 23 yards per carry in a single game in 2019.

He accumulated five 100-plus yard rushing games last season against: Portland State (114), Colorado State (122), Kentucky (134), Mississippi State (114) and Western Kentucky (185), joining a club of just 16 running backs in school history to register at least eight career 100-yard games.

Boyd scored two touchdowns in a game three times in 2019 versus Colorado State, Kentucky and Western Kentucky. Boyd also caught 19 passes for 160 yards (8.4 ypc), accruing a season-high 55 receiving yards against Alabama.

He ran for 734 yards on 123 attempts (6.2 ypc) in his first year with the Razorbacks in 2018 and scored two touchdowns. Boyd earned the inaugural Darren McFadden Running Back of the Year award from the Little Rock Touchdown Club for his performance.

Last week Boyd was tabbed to the Doak Walker Award Watch List, given annually to the best running back in the country.

Earlier this week, senior kicker A.J. Reed earned Lou Groza Award Watch List honors as one of the nation’s best placekickers, while sophomore wide receiver and return man Treylon Burks picked up Paul Hornung Award Watch List recognition for being one of college football’s most versatile players.

The Maxwell Award has been awarded annually since 1937 and is named in honor of Robert “Tiny” Maxwell, a former standout at Swarthmore College, and a renowned sportswriter and football official.

Information from Razorback Sports Communications is included in this story.