Trey Taylor on Chuck Bednarik Award Watch List

The Maxwell Football Club today announced its watch list for the 29^th Chuck Bednarik Award presented annually to the outstanding defensive player in college football.

The 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.

Taylor, who is also on the Bronco Nagurski watch list as the nation's top defensive player and the Jim Thorpe Award Watch List as the nation's top defensive back, led the Falcons in tackles last season with 69. He added 4.5 tackles for loss and a sack, along with two interceptions. A preseason all-Mountain West selection, Taylor was a second-team all-MW pick in 2022. He enters this season with 131 career tackles which leads all returning Falcons.

The Bednarik Award watch list will once again incorporate a broad spectrum of Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) programs and conferences from coast to coast, led by 5 returning 2022 semifinalists: Kool-Aid McKinstry (Alabama), Tyler Davis (Clemson), Jer'Zhan Newton (Illinois), Tommy Eichenberg (Ohio State) and Jason Henderson (Old Dominion). Clemson and Penn State lead the way with 3 candidates each with an additional 9 schools boasting 2 candidates.

Last year's Chuck Bednarik Award winner was Will Anderson Jr. (Alabama) who went on to be the 1^st round selection of the Houston Texans in the 2023 NFL Draft. Anderson joined Alabama greats Jonathan Allen (2016) and Minkah Fitzpatrick (2017) as the third Crimson Tide player to win the award.

First Name	Last Name	School	Class	Position
Trey	Taylor	Air Force	Senior	S
Kool-Aid	McKinstry	Alabama	Junior	CB
Dallas	Turner	Alabama	Junior	LB
Leo	Lowin	Army	Senior	LB
D.J.	James	Auburn	Senior	CB
DJ	Schramm	Boise State	Senior	LB
Donovan	Ezeiruaku	Boston College	Junior	DE
Shaun	Dolac	Buffalo	Senior	LB
Ben	Bywater	BYU	Junior	LB
Jackson	Sirmon	Cal	Senior	LB
Dontay	Corleone	Cincinnati	Sophomore	DT
Tyler	Davis	Clemson	Senior	DT
Jeremiah	Trotter	Clemson	Junior	LB
Barrett	Carter	Clemson	Junior	LB
Jack	Howell	Colorado State	Junior	S
Jackson	Mitchell	Connecticut	Senior	LB
DeWayne	Carter	Duke	Senior	DT
Princely	Umanmielen	Florida	Junior	DE
Jared	Verse	Florida State	Junior	DE
Levelle	Bailey	Fresno State	Senior	LB
Javon	Bullard	Georgia	Junior	DB
Jamon	Dumas-Johnson	Georgia	Junior	LB
LaMiles	Brooks	Georgia Tech	Junior	S
Jer'Zhan	Newton	Illinois	Junior	DL
Keith	Randolph	Illinois	Junior	DL
Andre	Carter	Indiana	Senior	DL
Cooper	DeJean	Iowa	Junior	CB
T.J.	Tampa	Iowa State	Senior	CB
Cobee	Bryant	Kansas	Junior	CB
Kobe	Savage	Kansas State	Senior	S
J.J.	Weaver	Kentucky	Senior	LB
Harold	Perkins	LSU	Sophomore	LB
Owen	Porter	Marshall	Senior	DE
Jaishawn	Barham	Maryland	Sophomore	LB
Leonard	Taylor	Miami	Junior	DT
Kamren	Kinchens	Miami	Junior	S
Kris	Jenkins	Michigan	Senior	DT
Junior	Colson	Michigan	Junior	LB
Cal	Haladay	Michigan State	Junior	LB
Tyler	Nubin	Minnesota	Senior	S
Nathaniel	Watson	Mississippi State	Senior	LB
Ty'Ron	Hopper	Missouri	Senior	LB
Aydan	White	NC State	Junior	CB
Payton	Wilson	NC State	Senior	LB
Cedric	Gray	North Carolina	Senior	LB
Benjamin	Morrison	Notre Dame	Sophomore	CB
JT	Tuimoloau	Ohio State	Junior	DE
Tommy	Eichenberg	Ohio State	Senior	LB
Ethan	Downs	Oklahoma	Junior	DE
Collin	Oliver	Oklahoma State	Junior	LB
Jason	Henderson	Old Dominion	Junior	LB
Cedric	Johnson	Ole Miss	Senior	DE
Brandon	Dorlus	Oregon	Senior	DE
Kitan	Oladapo	Oregon State	Senior	S
Kalen	King	Penn State	Junior	CB
Chop	Robinson	Penn State	Junior	DE
Abdul	Carter	Penn State	Sophomore	LB
M.J.	Devonshire	Pitt	Senior	CB
Aaron	Lewis	Rutgers	Junior	DE
Yam	Banks	South Alabama	Junior	S
Jay	Stanley	Southern Miss	Senior	S
David	Bailey	Stanford	Sophomore	LB
Marlowe	Wax	Syracuse	Junior	LB
Josh	Newton	TCU	Senior	CB
Layton	Jordan	Temple	Senior	LB
Aaron	Beasley	Tennessee	Senior	LB
Jaylan	Ford	Texas	Senior	LB
Jaylon	Hutchings	Texas Tech	Senior	DT
Quinyon	Mitchell	Toledo	Junior	CB
Reddy	Steward	Troy	Senior	CB
Jarius	Monroe	Tulane	Senior	CB
Patrick	Jenkins	Tulane	Junior	DT
Fish	McWilliams	UAB	Senior	DT
Jason	Johnson	UCF	Senior	LB
Laiatu	Latu	UCLA	Senior	LB
Calen	Bullock	USC	Junior	S
Cole	Bishop	Utah	Junior	S
Tyrice	Knight	UTEP	Senior	LB
Rashad	Wisdom	UTSA	Senior	S
Chico	Bennett	Virginia	Senior	DE
Bralen	Trice	Washington	Junior	DE
Aubrey	Burks	West Virginia	Junior	S
JaQues	Evans	Western Kentucky	Junior	LB
Maema	Njongmeta	Wisconsin	Senior	LB
Easton	Gibbs	Wyoming	Junior	LB

The Chuck Bednarik Award has once again partnered with Pro Football Focus (PFF) and Phil Steele Publications as selection committee partners. PFF provides detailed metrics and performance-based assessments to selection committee staff, with several senior PFF analysts are members of our selection committee. Phil Steele's College Football Preview is generally recognized as the most complete preseason magazine.

Semifinalists for the Chuck Bednarik Award will be announced November 13, 2023, while the three finalists for the Bednarik Award will be unveiled November 28, 2023. The winners of the 29^thChuck Bednarik Award will be announced as part of the ESPN Home Depot College Football Awards Show held on December 7, 2023. The formal presentations of the Chuck Bednarik Award will be made at the Maxwell Football Club Awards in March 2024.

Questions concerning the 2023 Bednarik Award watch list can be directed to MFC Executive Director Mark Wolpert mwolpert@maxwellfootballclub.org or MFC Vice President of College Awards Rich Cirminiello rcirminiello@maxwellfootballclub.org.

ABOUT THE MAXWELL FOOTBALL CLUB – The Maxwell Football Club was founded in 1935 and is the oldest football organization of its kind in America. The Club recognizes excellence in performance at the high school, collegiate and professional levels of the game. The Maxwell Club is also deeply involved and fully vested in the community through programs to promote academic excellence, community volunteerism, and leadership. High school student-athletes around the country have an opportunity to participate in MFC Showcase events, free of charge, through the generosity of our corporate partners, Montage Mountain Resorts, the Buccini Polin Group, the ETC Foundation and the Run Around Inc. To learn more about our story visit www.maxwellfootballclub.org.

ABOUT PRO FOOTBALL FOCUS - PFF is widely recognized as the industry leader in the advanced data collection and analysis for American football. Since 2011, PFF has led football's charge into the world of analytics. Their services are trusted by all 32 NFL teams and over 100 FBS programs. Major broadcast networks, national media outlets and player agencies all use PFF as a resource as well. PFF's media network provides fans with apps, tools, podcasts and other content to help satisfy their thirst for deeper insights in the game.

The Chuck Bednarik Award is a member of the National College Football Awards Association (NCFAA), which encompasses college football's most prestigious awards. The NCFAA's 24 awards have honored more than 900 recipients since 1935. This season, 12 NCFAA awards will honor national players of the week each Tuesday.

To purchase Air Force Athletics tickets, please visit: www.aftickets.com or call 719-472-1895.

Trey Taylor on Chuck Bednarik Award Watch List

Related News

Related Videos

Footer