With conference championships wrapped up and the national championship still several weeks away from being decided, it's awards season in college football, and several of the most prestigious honors were handed out Thursday night. From the Davey O'Brien Award given to the nation's best quarterback to the Ray Guy Award for the nation's best punter, the honors run the gamut of the sport's positional spectrum.
Defense made a comeback in 2021, and one of the game's biggest defenders got his due Thursday. Georgia's 340-pound defensive tackle Jordan Davis won both the Bednarik and Outland awards after helping the No. 3 Bulldogs to one of the most dominant defensive seasons in modern history. Davis became the first player since Aaron Donald in 2013 to win both honors in the same season. On the offensive side, Michigan State running back Kenneth Walker III also cleaned up by winning both the Walter Camp and Doak Walker awards. So did Alabama quarterback Bryce Young, who won the Maxwell and Davey O'Brien awards and is the favorite to win the Heisman Trophy.
In addition to Georgia and Alabama, the other teams playing in the College Football Playoff were also represented in college football's awards. Check out the full list of winners for the 2021 college football season below:
| Award | Category | 2020 Winner |
|---|---|---|
Maxwell Award | Player of the Year | Bryce Young, Alabama |
Walter Camp Award | Player of the Year | Kenneth Walker III, Michigan State |
Home Depot Award | Coach of the Year | Luke Fickell, Cincinnati |
Jim Thorpe Award | Best Defensive Back | Coby Bryant, Cincinnati |
Davey O'Brien Award | Best Quarterback | Bryce Young, Alabama |
Rimington Award | Best Center | Tyler Linderbaum, Iowa |
Lou Groza Award | Best Placekicker | Jake Moody, Michigan |
Butkus Award | Best Linebacker | Nakobe Dean, Georgia |
Doak Walker Award | Best Running Back | Kenneth Walker III, Michigan State |
Biletnikoff Award | Best Wide Receiver | Jordan Addison, Pittsburgh |
John Mackey Award | Best Tight End | Trey McBride, Colorado State |
Outland Trophy | Beset Interior Lineman | Jordan Davis, Georgia |
Ray Guy Award | Best Punter | Matt Araiza, San Diego State |
Bednarik Award | Defensive Player of the Year | Jordan Davis, Georgia |
Bronko Nagurski Trophy | Defensive Player of the Year | Will Anderson, Alabama |
| Burlsworth Trophy | Top Former Walk-On | Grant Morgan, Arkansas |
Disney Spirit Award | Most Inspirational | Tre Tipton, Pittsburgh |
William V. Campbell Trophy | Academic Heisman | Charlie Kolar, Iowa State |
Weurffel Trophy | Community Service | Isaiah Sanders, Stanford |
Broyles Award | Best Assistant Coach | Josh Gattis, Michigan |