Another member of the 2023 Florida football team earned preseason honors on Monday when junior defensive lineman [autotag]Princely Umanmielen[/autotag] was named to the Chuck Bednarik Award Watch List, according to an announcement made by the Maxwell Football Club.
The Chuck Bednarik Award has been presented to the College Defensive Player of the Year since 1994 and is named in honor of Chuck “Concrete Charlie” Bednarik who was an All-American player at the University of Pennsylvania and later a multiple-year All-Pro linebacker and center for the Philadelphia Eagles. He is a member of both the College and Pro Football Halls of Fame and was the last NFL player to be a full-time player on both offense and defense.
Umanmielen is one of a dozen defensive ends nationwide to make the 85-player list and one of just two from the Southeastern Conference, with the Ole Miss Rebels’ Cedric Johnson also joining him.
Last season, the 6-foot-5-inch, 254-pound pass-rusher lead the Gators in sacks (4.5) and tackles for a loss (9.5) while finishing second in quarterback hurries (5), playing in all 13 games and starting in 11 of them. He added 39 total tackles, 16 solo and two forced fumbles to his stat line as well.
Semifinalists for the Chuck Bednarik Award will be announced Nov. 13, 2023, while the three finalists for the Bednarik Award will be unveiled Nov. 28.
The winners of the 29th Chuck Bednarik Award will be announced as part of the ESPN Home Depot College Football Awards Show held on Dec. 7. The formal presentations of the Chuck Bednarik Award will be made at the Maxwell Football Club Awards in March 2024.
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