The most recognizable trophy in college football will not be handed out until tomorrow night, but last night, Penn State tailback Larry Johnson still earned the right to call himself "the Outstanding Player in Collegiate Football."
Those are the words inscribed on the Maxwell Award, similar to the Heisman Trophy although somewhat less recognizable, which Johnson won last night at ESPN's Home Depot College Football Awards Show at Walt Disney World in Florida.
Johnson also won the Doak Walker Award at the awards show, and earlier in the day, he was named Walter Camp Football Foundation's Football Player of the Year.
The Walter Camp Award also goes to the nation's top college football player. The Doak Walker Award, presented by the Southern Methodist University (SMU) Athletic Forum Board of Directors, goes to the nation's best running back. It was named after the SMU running back who won the Heisman Trophy in 1948.
Johnson is the seventh Penn State player to win the Maxwell Award since its inception in 1937. He is only the second Nittany Lion to win the Walter Camp Award in its 36-year history and the first Lion to win the Doak Walker Award since it was first handed out in 1990.
Though the Maxwell is awarded by the same criteria, there is no guarantee the winner will also take home the Heisman. Only 34 of the 65 previous winners have also won the Heisman Trophy.
Even when Johnson was given the Maxwell Award, the last and most prestigious trophy given out at the College Football Awards Show, he was still the same old LJ. He did not even crack a smile, and he made sure he showed respect to his elders.
"It's still kind of hard to say that," Johnson said when asked by ESPN sportscaster Chris Fowler if he could now compare himself with the great Penn State tailbacks. "When you look at what guys like [former tailbacks] Lenny Moore and Ki-Jana Carter and Curtis Enis have done, I don't think I'd be doing what I'm doing if it wasn't for those guys."
However, none of those players have the hardware Johnson has already accumulated. John Cappelletti, Penn State's only Heisman Trophy winner, was also the only other Lion to win the Walter Camp Award, and the only running back among the Lions who won the Maxwell Award. He won all three in 1973.
Among the other Lions who won the Maxwell were quarterback Richie Lucas (1959), center Glenn Ressler (1964), defensive tackle Mike Reid (1969), quarterback Chuck Fusina (1978) and quarterback Kerry Collins (1994).
Johnson won the Maxwell Award over fellow Heisman candidates Ken Dorsey, Miami's quarterback, and Brad Banks, Iowa's signal caller.
He also outdid Miami tailback Willis McGahee and Colorado tailback Chris Brown to win the Doak Walker Award. However, when he was presented with the award, he still joked that he wanted something the other two guys have.
"[Winning the award] definitely means a lot," Johnson said. "But when I heard [ESPN analyst] Lee Corso talking about me running with 'bad intentions,' I wished I had one of those cool mirrors on my helmet like those guys."
Johnson was also named to the 113th Walter Camp All-America Team, along with defensive tackle Jimmy Kennedy. That team, selected since 1889, is the oldest in college football. Johnson has already been named to the Football Writers Association of America All-America team, so Kennedy's selection made him the 74th Lion to be named a first team All-American.
