Mountain West Football: Seven Named To Bednarik Award Watch List

The preseason watch list of college football’s best defensive players includes seven from the Mountain West.

Sound defensive standouts.

The bulk of watch list season wrapped up this morning with the reveal of the Bednarik Award list. Given annually to college football’s player of the year, there are seven players from the Mountain West on this year’s iteration.

The Maxwell Football Club today announced its watch list for the 28th Chuck Bednarik Award presented annually to the outstanding defensive player in college football. Check out who made the list here ⬇️

For more information on #MaxwellFootball head to…https://t.co/WLP97u1LVJ pic.twitter.com/KnE8Avqnia

— Maxwell Football (@MaxwellFootball) August 1, 2022

The group includes a number of athletes who have appeared on other watch lists over the past couple weeks and features players from every level of defense. Boise State’s Scott Matlock, Nevada’s Dom Peterson, and San Jose State’s Viliami Fehoko represent the conference’s defensive line.

Among Mountain West linebackers, Air Force’s Vince Sanford and Colorado State’s Dequan Jackson are the only two to make an appearance here. This actually represents Jackson’s first watch list nod of the off-season, after a 2021 campaign in which he collected 84 tackles, 8.5 tackles for loss, and one sack.

In the secondary, San Diego State safety Patrick McMorris and Fresno State safety Evan Williams make yet another watch list appearance after being named preseason all-conference selections by the Mountain West media back in July.

Last year’s Bednarik Award winner was Georgia’s Jordan Davis.

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