Tag: Bednarik Award

Notre Dame players named to preseason award watch lists

Will anyone win this year?

It’s the time of year when we start seeing award watch lists come out in anticipation of the college football season. With Notre Dame expected to be highly ranked once again, there are plenty of players who are ripe for watching. Whether or not any of them actually take home any of this hardware is anyone’s guess right now, but they’re at least on the radar of those who know college football best.

In some cases, more than one Notre Dame player is on the watch list for the same award. Also, as different award watch lists come on different days, it can be difficult to keep track of them all. Rest assured, we will be doing just that as these lists continue to come out.

At season’s end, we’ll find out if any of them or maybe somebody different becomes the first national award winner for the Irish since [autotag]Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah[/autotag] won the Butkus Award in 2020:

Tuli Tuipulotu named finalist for the Bednarik Award in 2022

The award named for ‘Concrete Charlie’ Bednarik, an icon of football, carries great stature and prestige. Tuli Tuipulotu is a finalist for the prize. #USC

The Maxwell Football Club has announced three finalists for the Bednarik Award, and USC defensive lineman Tuli Tuipulotu is one of them.

The Chuck Bednarik Award is presented to the best defensive player in college football. The past few winners include Chase Young in 2019 of Ohio State and Jordan Davis of Georgia in 2021.

Chuck Bednarik is an iconically memorable figure in football history. He starred at Pennsylvania in college and then became an NFL world champion with the Philadelphia Eagles. His thunderous hit of New York Giant halfback and former USC Trojan Frank Gifford is one of the most memorable plays in NFL history. “Concrete Charlie” is a football legend, whose story lives on at NFL Films.

Winning the Bednarik Award is a big deal.

Tuli Tuipulotu is the nation’s second-leading sack man with 11.5 on the season (1.15 per game). He is also the Pac-12 leader and is fourth nationally with 1.8 tackles for loss per game (17.5 total). Those combine for 167 yards lost to opposing offenses.

The other finalists for the award are Cincinnati’s Ivan Pace Jr., who leads the American Athletic Conference in tackles and tied for second in sacks and Will Anderson Jr. of Alabama, currently leading the Southeastern Conference in sacks (10) and tackles for loss (17). Both marks are among the top-10 in the nation.

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Keion White headlines the Bednarik Award’s weekly honor roll

The Bednarik Award’s weekly honor roll features several top defensive performances from last week.

Keion White is coming off a huge weekend for Georgia Tech, earning the Bednarik Award Player of the Week honors. He is joined by a strong list of players who made impacts last weekend on the defensive side of the ball.

The Maxwell Football Club awards the Chuck Bednarik Award for the top defensive player in college football. Last season, Georgia’s Jordan Davis was the recipient of the Bednarik Award.

Every March, the club hosts an annual awards gala at the Harrah’s in Atlantic City, N.J. where the winners of the Maxwell Award (for the nation’s top player) as well as the Bednarik Award are honored.

Scroll down and check out the seven players who made this week’s Bednarik Award Weekly Honor Roll!

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Iowa Hawkeyes’ Jack Campbell named a semifinalist for Bednarik, Butkus Awards

Iowa Hawkeyes’ linebacker Jack Campbell is a semifinalist for both the Bednarik and Butkus Awards.

Jack Campbell, the heart and soul of the Iowa Hawkeyes defense, has found himself among the finalists for two nationally prestigious awards given annually. The leader of the Hawkeyes defense, Campbell has proven himself more than worthy to be in the conversation for each of these awards.

The first award Campbell is a finalist for is the Bednarik Award. The Bednarik Award is given out annually to college football’s best defensive player.

The second award Campbell has been named a finalist for is the Butkus Award. Named after former NFL linebacking great, this award is given out to the nation’s best linebacker each year.

Campbell is playing at an exceptionally high level this year, just as he has his entire career with the Hawkeyes. Through eight games this season he has accounted for 80 tackles, averaging 10 per game. That is leading the Hawkeyes defense. He also has a pass deflection and an interception to his credit as well.

But more than that, Campbell is a top-notch teammate. He was nearly as excited for the offense recently as he was his defensive unit.

“It was awesome to see those guys, because I know how hard they work, how hard all the coaches work, so to just see them push it through, I wasn’t really surprised at all, but I was just, it’s just awesome to see other people succeed,” Campbell said when describing what it was like seeing the offense’s success.

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Drew Sanders named semifinalist for Bednarik Award

An SEC player has won the Bednarik Award four of the last six years

If bets were to be taken about which Alabama-related player would lead the SEC in sacks in 2022, most of those bets would have been on Will Anderson.

And while the Crimson Tide edge player remains one of the best defenders in the country, it’s his former teammate who is tops in the SEC when it comes to getting to the quarterback.

Arkansas linebacker Drew Sanders, with his 6 1/2 sacks in tow, was named a semifinalist for the Chuck Bednarik Award on Tuesday. The Bednarik Award is given to the nation’s best defensive player.

Sanders, in his first year at Arkansas after transferring from Alabama, has 65 tackles, including 7 1/2 for loss to go along with his 6 1/2 sacks. He also has three pass break-ups, three forced fumbles and six quarterback hurries.

Last year’s winner was Jordan Davis from Georgia. Players from the SEC have won the Bednarik Award four of the last six years.

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Myles Murphy, Jacoby Windom headline the weekly Bednarik Award honor roll

Seven players make the Bednarik Award’s weekly honor roll from the Maxwell Football Club.

Myles Murphy was absolutely tremendous for Clemson last week as the defensive end made play after play in an important win over Florida State. For his efforts, Murphy was named the Bednarik Award Player of the Week as he highlights this week’s weekly honor roll from the Maxwell Football Club.

Murphy’s strong performance leads the way as one of the seven top performers highlighted by the Maxwell Football Club from Week 7 of the college football season.

The Maxwell Football Club awards the Chuck Bednarik Award for the top defensive player in college football. Last season, Georgia’s Jordan Davis was the recipient of the Bednarik Award.

Every March, the club hosts an annual awards gala at the Harrah’s in Atlantic City, N.J. where the winners of the Maxwell Award (for the nation’s top player) as well as the Bednarik Award are honored.

Check out the seven players who made this week’s Bednarik Award Weekly Honor Roll!

What six players made the Bednarik Award’s weekly honor roll?

Six players made the Maxwell Football Club’s weekly honor roll.

This week, North Carolina State’s Drake Thomas was named the Bednarik Award Player of the Week. The weekly honor was given out by the Maxwell Football Club.

Drake and North Carolina State face a monster challenge this week when they play at Syracuse on Saturday afternoon. It is a battle of two ranked teams that could and should have implications for the ACC Championship Game.

If Syracuse wins this game, then they are definitely for real. But that is neither here nor there. Back to the Bednarik Award’s Weekly Honor Roll…

The Maxwell Football Club awards the Chuck Bednarik Award for the top defensive player in college football. Last season, Georgia’s Jordan Davis was the recipient of the Bednarik Award.

Every March, the club hosts an annual awards gala at the Harrah’s in Atlantic City, N.J. where the winners of the Maxwell Award (for the nation’s top player) as well as the Bednarik Award are honored.

Check out the six players who made this week’s Bednarik Award Weekly Honor Roll!

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What players made the Bednarik Award’s weekly honor roll?

The Bednarik Award’s weekly honor roll was released for Week 2.

No one had a better week defensively in all of college football than Drew Sanders. The Arkansas linebacker put in a massive showing in a win over South Carolina.

For his efforts, Sanders was named the Bednarik Award Player of the Week by the Maxwell Football Club. He was one of six players to be named by the Maxwell Football Club to their weekly honor roll.

The Maxwell Football Club awards the Chuck Bednarik Award for the top defensive player in college football. Last season, Georgia’s Jordan Davis was the recipient of the Bednarik Award.

Every March, the club hosts an annual awards gala at the Harrah’s in Atlantic City, N.J. where the winners of the Maxwell Award (for the nation’s top player) as well as the Bednarik Award are honored.

Check out the six players who made this week’s Bednarik Award Weekly Honor Roll!

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Husker Linebacker named to Bednarik Watchlist

He would be only the second Husker to ever win the award!

The Bednarik Award is an annual postseason trophy presented to the College Defensive Player of the Year. The Maxwell Football Club has given the award away every year since its inception in 1995. It’s named for Chuck Bednarik, a linebacker who played for Penn from 1945-1948 and was the first overall pick of the 1949 NFL Draft of the Philadelphia Eagles. He was a 2x NFL Champion (1949, 1960), a 10x First-team All-Pro, and a member of the NFL’s 50th, 75th, and 100th Anniversary All-Time Teams.

Husker Linebacker Luke Reimer has been named to the Bednarik watchlist. Last season the Lincoln, Nebraska native had 90 total tackles, one sack, and one interception for the Cornhuskers. Should Reimer win the award, he would be the second Husker after 2009 winner Ndamukong Suh.

Contact/Follow us @CornhuskersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Nebraska news, notes, and opinion.

Let us know your thoughts and comment on this story below. Join the conversation today!

Two Tigers named to Bednarik Award watch list

Auburn’s top returning tacklers have received a mention on the Bednarik Award watch list.

Auburn’s top returning tacklers from last season are expected to have breakout season’s in 2022.

Auburn defensive ends [autotag]Derick Hall[/autotag] and [autotag]Colby Wooden[/autotag] are set to be the leaders of the Auburn defense this season and have the credentials to do so.

Both were named to the Bednarik Award preseason watch list. The award is given annually to the best defensive player in college football at season’s end.

Wooden and Hall ended last season No. 4 and No. 5 respectively in total stops, but will take over as the leading returning tacklers in 2022. Wooden had a phenomenal season, making 61 tackles, with 8.5 being for loss and five sacks.

Hall recorded 54 tackles in 2021, but made a home behind the line of scrimmage. Out of his total tackles, nine went for sacks, and he made a total of 12.5 tackles for loss.

The mention is the first preseason watch list that Wooden has become a part of, and it will be the fourth watch list nod for Hall.

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