Louisville's Lamar Jackson wins both Maxwell, Camp awards

ATLANTA – Lamar Jackson picked up another trophy for his marvelous season. The Louisville quarterback got a glimpse of the one he really wants.

On a red-carpet night in Atlanta, Jackson captured the Maxwell Award as the nation's top college player Thursday night and signaled himself as the clear favorite for the Heisman Trophy.

Jackson already won the Walter Camp Award, also given to the best player.

"I'm shocked. I've got butterflies. I never had those before," the sophomore said, posing with his Maxwell Award after a ceremony at the College Football Hall of Fame, where eight other award winners were announced.

In an interesting twist, Clemson's Deshaun Watson claimed the Davey O'Brien award as the nation's top quarterback for the second year in a row — beating out Jackson.

Now it's on to New York, where they're both finalists for college football's most prestigious individual award.

"He's a tremendous player himself. He's done lot of great things," Jackson said of Watson. "If he does [win the Heisman], oh well. Best man."

"It's a big trophy," he said. "I'm going to need to do some more push-ups."

Watson hasn't given up on his dream of claiming the Heisman before he heads off to the NFL. He won't return for his senior season, having already earned his college degree.

"I have a lot of confidence in the way I've played over the course of the season," said Watson, who finished third in the Heisman race a year ago behind winner Derrick Henry of Alabama and runner-up Christian McCaffrey of Stanford.

While the Maxwell voting is a solid indication of how the Heisman race might go, it's no guarantee. In fact, only two of the past five winners — Henry and Marcus Mariota in 2014 —went on to capture the more illustrious award.

Watson is holding out hope he'll pull out a come-from-behind victory over Jackson, who had been considered the favorite until the Cardinals lost their last two games.

Watson guided Clemson to another Atlantic Coast Conference championship and a second straight appearance in the College Football Playoff. The Tigers will meet Ohio State in the Fiesta Bowl semifinal on New Year's Eve.

As for his Heisman chances, Watson said confidently, "I'm expecting to win. I always expect to have success."

He's already a huge success — on and off the field. Watson took his last final exam Wednesday in a political communication class.