“It’s always good to meet people and meet other people,” Dunn said. “I'm trying to lie down. I just like to relax.”
Other honorees in attendance included former North Carolina State University linebacker Peyton Wilson, who won the Bednarik Award as the nation's top defensive player, and Ohio State safety and Millcreek High School graduate Caleb Downs, who won the Bednarik Award as the nation's top defensive player. Shaun Alexander Award winner as a freshman). (played while he was still at Alabama). Two mainstays of the state's football community: John Grant, executive director of the Celebration Bowl (an unofficial HBCU national championship tournament held at Mercedes-Benz Stadium) and recently retired University of Georgia athletic director John Grant; Information Director Claude Felton also attended the awards ceremony. .
The Hall of Fame induction of this event once again speaks to Atlanta's status as the center of college football. Boosters love to call it the capital of college football, home to the Hall of Fame, the SEC Championship Game, the Aflac Kickoff Game (formerly the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game), the Peach Bowl, and the regular College Football Playoff Champions League. All of Shipp's games are based here, not to mention the large fandom that flocks to the Atlanta metropolitan area.
Such interest was clearly appealing to Maxwell Football Club, which has hosted annual recognition events in or near the Philadelphia area for the past 86 years. (The Maxwell Trophy is just two years younger than the Heisman Trophy.) Mark Wolpert, the club's executive director, told the AJC that the pandemic has reduced local demand for club-like events, and the club has lost its place. He said he couldn't find it. Additionally, he pays more attention to the NFL than the college game in the Northeast.
Wolpert said it was a difficult but necessary step to change the event.
“When you leave your home and walk away from the customers who support what we do, you’re ripping the band-aid off,” he said. “But we've known for a long time that this movement would be here. There's a lot more interest here.”
Naturally, securing an awards dinner doesn't make the same waves as competing in the CFP Championship Game. But this says something about Atlanta and its passion for college football. A club that has held its treasured events in its backyard for more than 80 years has relied on Atlanta's love of college football to pick it up and move nearly 1,100 miles away to a city with little recognition.
It's important that this works. The dinner is a fundraiser for the club, which Wolpert said runs programs such as leadership seminars for high school football players and combine-type events for athletes from underserved areas. Told.
“We have a three-year contract here, so we're going to stay here,” Wolpert said. “This will be our home.”
This hall is suitable and experienced for hosting events like Friday's. During the cocktail hour before the awards ceremony, the main entrance space was dotted with great soccer players. In addition to the aforementioned honorees, College Football Hall of Famers Don McPherson, Hugh Greene and Matt Stinchcomb were in attendance, as was Alabama great Sean Alexander, who presented the award to Downs. (Mr. Stinchcomb, a great Georgia player, introduced Mr. Felton, and Mr. Felton humbly and predictably used part of his acceptance speech to recognize Mr. Stinchcomb as one of the greatest football, academic, and community service leaders in team history.) (He praised it as a perfect combination.)
Kimberly Bourdain, Hall of Fame president and CEO, told the AJC that it is her goal to permanently host Maxwell events at the Hall of Fame. The hall hosted the college football awards ceremony from 2015 to December 2019, bringing the season's biggest stars to Atlanta, but it is now held at ESPN headquarters in Bristol, Conn.
“Being able to have some of the best players and coaches and influential people who have shaped the game is why we are here,” Beaudin said. “That's excellent.”
It would have been wise for the club to shorten the award ceremony, but it dragged on. The livestreamed event featured many pauses and slowdowns. For example, before Lions coach Dan Campbell was named Pro Football Coach of the Year, a video was played in which the names of all past winners (34 in total) were scrolled aloud. This was followed by a video celebrating the Lions' season. The two segments took approximately 7 minutes. And Mr. Campbell wasn't actually in attendance, instead sending a statement of thanks. Throughout the night, the audience gradually dwindled.
There will be problems to be solved, more invitations to be handed out, and introductions to be made. But Maxwell Football Club appears to be in the right place.
