Tyrell Maxwell Named Choice Hotels Big South Conference Offensive Player of the Week
October 12, 2015 | Football
CHARLOTTE – Gardner-Webb quarterback Tyrell Maxwell was named Big South Conference Choice Hotels Offensive Player of the Week Monday, two days after a career-best performance.
Maxwell (Cordova, S.C. / Edisto HS) engineered a 34-20 upset of No. 15 Liberty in just his fourth career start, accounting for 75 percent of his team's total offense in the win.
The 6-foot-2, 213-pound sophomore carried 21 times for a career-high 173 yards and three touchdowns and completed 10-of-14 passes (71.4 percent) for 105 yards and another score. Maxwell's rushing total broke Gardner-Webb's single-game record for a quarterback and was the second-highest rushing total for a quarterback in Big South Conference history – and the three rushing TD tied the league mark for the most in a single game by a quarterback. The versatile talent even lined up at receiver for one play on Saturday night.
His rushing total was the highest for any Gardner-Webb player since Phillip Peoples picked up 176 yards vs. Presbyterian on October 18, 2008.
Maxwell's first score was electric, as he took a quarterback sweep 45 yards to the house in the first quarter – breaking multiple tackles along the way to put his team up by two touchdowns. He added a one-yard dive in the second quarter to give Gardner-Webb a 20-0 lead and hit freshman Kyle Horton on a 30-yard scoring pass late in the second for a 27-7 GWU advantage.
His final score of the night came one play after a muffed punt – a five yard quarterback draw that saw Maxwell power through five defenders into the end zone.
Maxwell's timing was excellent against the Flames, with 10 of his runs going for first downs and six of his pass completions resulting in first downs. All told the young signal caller accounted directly for 16 of Gardner-Webb's 17 first downs in the game.
Maxwell went over 100 yards passing and 100 yards rushing on just 17 snaps by halftime (12.7 yards per play) as GWU built its three-score advantage. Saturday's performance marked the second time this season that Maxwell has thrown for 100-plus and rushed for 100-plus yards in a game – with the first coming at FBS South Alabama in the season opener.
Maxwell already ranks fourth in GWU history with 646 quarterback rushing yards, surpassing Hall of Famer Ray Hannon on Saturday (603 yards) – despite 170 fewer attempts (4.3 career yards per carry). He is on track to become the first quarterback to ever lead the Runnin' Bulldogs in rushing for a season.
Maxwell ranks fifth in Big South history already in rushing yards by a quarterback, just 10 yards behind former NFL and Coastal Carolina signal caller Tyler Thigpen.
So far this season, Maxwell leads Gardner-Webb with 391 yards rushing on 86 carries, averaging a solid 4.5 yards per carry with three touchdowns. He has completed 49-of-93 passes (52.7 percent) for 407 yards and four more scores.
Maxwell and the Runnin' Bulldogs face another tough road test this week, traveling to face Big South newcomer Kennesaw State on Saturday, October 17 in Georgia. The game will air live on ESPN3, with kickoff set for 1:00 pm in Fifth Third Bank Stadium.
