The Maxwell Football Club announced its annual preseason watch lists Tuesday for both the Maxwell and Bednarik awards -- which go to the nation’s top overall player and defensive player, respectively -- and the Big Ten fared pretty well.

Every team boasted at least one candidate on one of the lists, as 28 total players -- 12 on offense, 16 on defense -- made the early cut.

Obviously, early watch lists like these need to be taken with a grain of salt. Arizona’s Scooby Wright wasn’t on the watch list in 2014 and came away with Bednarik, and Notre Dame’s Manti Te'o was left off the 2012 Maxwell watch list before winning that award. Still, it’s an honor to make the lists.

Here’s a breakdown, by team, of the two watch lists:

Illinois (2): Maxwell – QB Wes Lunt. Bednarik – DL Dawuane Smoot.

Indiana (1): Maxwell – WR Simmie Cobbs. Bednarik – None.

Iowa (2): Maxwell – QB C.J. Beathard. Bednarik – CB Desmond King.

Maryland (1): Maxwell – None. Bednarik – CB Will Likely.

Michigan (5): Maxwell – TE Jake Butt, WR Jehu Chesson. Bednarik – CB Jourdan Lewis, S Jabrill Peppers, DL Chris Wormley.

Michigan State (2): Maxwell – None. Bednarik – LB Riley Bullough, DL Malik McDowell.

Minnesota (1): Maxwell – QB Mitch Leidner. Bednarik – None.

Nebraska (2): Maxwell – QB Tommy Armstrong Jr. Bednarik – S Nate Gerry.

Northwestern (2): Maxwell – RB Justin Jackson. Bednarik – LB Anthony Walker.

Ohio State (3): Maxwell – QB J.T. Barrett. Bednarik – DL Tyquan Lewis, LB Raekwon McMillan.

Penn State (3): Maxwell – RB Saquon Barkley, WR Chris Godwin. Bednarik – LB Jason Cabinda.

Purdue (1): Maxwell – None. Bednarik – DL Jake Replogle.

Rutgers (1): Maxwell – None. Bednarik – DL Darius Hamilton.

Wisconsin (2): Maxwell – RB Corey Clement. Bednarik – LB Vince Biegel.