Wisconsin star defensive backs Hunter Wohler and Ricardo Hallman cracked the 2024 Chuck Bednarik Award watch list on Monday.
The honor annually recognizes the most outstanding defensive player in college football. 2024 marks the 30th installation of the honor.
This marks Wohler’s fourth preseason award watch list nomination. He’s also been named to the watch list for the 2024 Wuerffel Trophy (community service), 2024 Jim Thorpe Award (best defensive back) and Bronko Nagurski Trophy (best defensive player).
Despite Hallman’s stellar AP Third Team All-American output in 2023, this marks only his first award watch list recognition of the 2024 preseason.
A total of nineteen Big Ten athletes cracked the final list, which was compiled by the Maxwell Football Club, Pro Football Focus (PFF) and Phil Steele Publications as the award’s selection committee partners.
Purdue safety Dillon Thieneman, Penn State safety Kevin Winston Jr., Oregon cornerback Jabbar Muhammad and Ohio State safety Caleb Downs are among the two Badgers’ conference rivals to make the final list at their respective positions.
Notable former winners include Alabama’s Will Anderson Jr. (2022), Georgia’s Jordan Davis (2021), Ohio State’s Chase Young (2019) and Alabama’s Minkah Fitzpatrick (2017).
Double the trouble.@HunterWohler and @ricardohallman6 are on the Chuck Bednarik Award watch list, presented annually to the πππππ§π¬π’π―π ππ₯ππ²ππ« π¨π ππ‘π ππππ« as judged by @MaxwellFootball. pic.twitter.com/Qscu7hby3p
— Wisconsin Football (@BadgerFootball) August 12, 2024
Hallman and Wohler will serve as the two leaders of Wisconsin’s defensive backfield in 2024. Wohler recorded 120 tackles in 2023, and Hallman was one of two players in the country to record seven interceptions a season ago.
Both will look to build on their spectacular 2023 season outputs for the Badgers this fall with hopes of bolstering their stocks for the 2025 NFL draft.