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It was announced on Tuesday that Eastern Michigan University senior wide receiver and 2017 Dearborn High graduate Hassan Beydoun has been named to the 2022 Maxwell Award Watchlist. The Maxwell Award is presented annually to the nation’s college football player of the year.

The Dearborn native is one of six players from the Mid-American Conference who was named to the 85-man list by the Maxwell Football Club. The Maxwell Award has been presented to the College Player of the Year since 1937 and is named in honor of Robert “Tiny” Maxwell who was a former standout player at Swarthmore College and a renowned sportswriter and football official.

Beydoun is coming off an historic 2021 season in which he earned Second Team All-MAC honors and became the team’s first 1,000-yard receiver since 2004. He set the EMU record for receptions in a season with 97 and led the MAC in that category. He also finished with 1,015 receiving yards, which is fourth all-time at EMU for a single season and was fourth in the MAC for 2021.

A nominee for the Burlsworth Trophy last year, the former walk-on will head into 2022 with 167 career receptions, which is the fourth-most in program history. However, he has a good chance to take over the top spot this fall, as he is just 81 receptions behind all-time leader Eric Deslauriers (248).

Last season, Beydoun had at least 10 catches in three different games and was one of only three players in the NCAA to have three or more such performances, together with Jerreth Sterns of Western Kentucky and Drake London of USC. On specials teams, he served as the Eagles’ main kick return man and led the squad in punt returns (11), punt return yards (62), kick returns (15) and kick return yards (284).

Beydoun helped guide EMU to its fourth bowl appearance since 2016 and the third bowl game during his career with the Eagles. At the 2021 LendingTree Bowl, which was played on Dec. 18 in Mobile, he finished with a game-high 11 catches for 83 yards.

On Nov. 2, Beydoun had 12 catches and finished with a career-high 197 receiving yards and two touchdowns in a win at Toledo.

In a matchup with Ball State on Oct. 16, Beydoun set a new career high in receptions with 14 and finished with 167 yards. His 14 catches that day was the most for an Eagle in a single game since the 2014 season and tied for the fifth most in program history.

As a senior at Dearborn, Beydoun helped guide the 2016 team to a 9-2 record. He caught 37 passes for 567 yards and nine touchdowns and piled up 282 yards returning kicks on special teams. On defense, he finished with 38 tackles and four interceptions.

Semifinalists for the Maxwell Award will be announced Nov. 1, 2022 and the three finalists for the award will be named on Nov. 22. The winner of the 86th Maxwell Award will be announced as part of the ESPN Home Depot College Football Awards Show held on Dec. 8. The formal presentations of the Maxwell Award will be made at the Maxwell Football Club Awards live from Atlantic City on March 10, 2023.

Beydoun and the Eagles will kick off the 2022 season with a home game on Sept. 2 against Eastern Kentucky at 7 p.m. at Rynearson Stadium in Ypsilanti.

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