Troy running back and Stanhope Elmore graduate B.J. Smith was one of 80 college football players to be named to the annual Maxwell Award Watch List earlier this month. The award is handed out in December honoring the best all-around player of the season in college football and Smith has his name alongside several nationally-known names including Alabama’s Tua Tagovailoa, Clemson’s Trevor Lawrence and Oklahoma’s Jalen Hurts.

“First of all, it was definitely a blessing,” Smith said. “There’s a lot of really talented people around the country so just to see my name around those guys, it’s a blessing and I don’t take that for granted.”

Caleb Turrentine is a sports writer for Tallapoosa Publishers Inc.