The [autotag]Chuck Bednarik Award[/autotag] is given out annually to the top defensive player in college football, and Notre Dame defensive tackle [autotag]Howard Cross III[/autotag] almost made it as a finalist last year.
As for the 2024 season, the award committee believes that three Irish players are worthy enough to take home the award as the season is set to start: Cross, cornerback [autotag]Benjamin Morrison[/autotag] and safety [autotag]Xavier Watts[/autotag].
All three of them recently were named onto the USA TODAY preseason All-American teams, so this inclusion should not surprise anyone. It’s the latest preseason honor for the trio of Notre Dame players, as each of one them have been named to other watch lists as well.
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0️⃣𝘗𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘧𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘺𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘪𝘯 𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘨𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘰𝘵𝘣𝘢𝘭𝘭
2023 Chuck Bednarik Award Semifinalist Howard Cross III has been selected to the Chuck Bednarik Award Preseason Watch List… pic.twitter.com/pA1NCfewyc
— Notre Dame Football (@NDFootball) August 12, 2024
Cross made multiple second-team All-American lists last year, while Morrison was a Thorpe Award semifinalist. Watts is the most decorated of the three, taking home the Bronko Nagurski Trophy while being a unanimous All-American.
The top three Irish defenders will once again be in the mix for a variety of national awards.
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