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The Maxwell Football Club has announced its watch list for the 31st Chuck Bednarik Award, presented annually to the most outstanding defensive player in college football. The Bednarik Award has been given to the College Defensive Player of the Year since 1995. It is named in honor of Chuck Bednarik, an NFL Hall of Fame linebacker and center who played his entire career with the Philadelphia Eagles. Known as one of the last “60-minute men” for playing both offense and defense, Bednarik exemplified toughness, excellence, and leadership on the field - values that the award bearing his name seeks to recognize in today’s top defensive players.
CollegeFootballPoll.com's Dave Congrove is a voter for the Biletnikoff Award.
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 one returning finalist: Caleb Downs of Ohio State, and two returning semifinalists: Mikail Kamara of Indiana, and Anthony Hill Jr. of Texas. The full list comprises 90 players, with Georgia leading the way with four candidates and an additional six schools having three players represented. The SEC boasts 23 candidates, followed by the Big10 (20), ACC (15), and Big12 (12).
Colorado two-way star Travis Hunter (WR/DB) won the 2024 Bednarik Award winner and was later selected by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the 1st round with the second over-all pick in the 2025 NFL draft in April in Green Bay.
Candidates are listed alphabetically by school with position and class year noted.
Tim Keenan III Alabama Senior DT
Deontae Lawson Alabama Senior LB
Xavion Alford Arizona State Senior S
Xavian Sorey Jr. Arkansas Senior LB
Andon Thomas Army Senior LB
Keldric Faulk Auburn Junior DE
Keaton Thomas Baylor Junior LB
Jayden Virgin-Morgan Boise State Junior ED
A’Marion McCoy Boise State Senior CB
Red Murdock Buffalo Senior LB
Kobe Stewart Buffalo Senior ED
Isaiah Glasker BYU Junior LB
Cade Uluave Cal Junior LB
Dontay Corleone Cincinnati Senior DT
Peter Woods Clemson Junior DT
T.J. Parker Clemson Junior DE
Avieon Terrell Clemson Junior CB
Chandler Rivers Duke Senior CB
Terry Moore Duke Senior S
Caleb Banks Florida Senior DT
Tyreak Sapp Flordia Senior ED
Darrell Jackson Jr. Florida State Senior DT
Al’zillion Hamilton Fresno State Senior CB
CJ Allen Georgia Junior LB
Daylen Everette Georgia Senior CB
KJ Bolden Georgia Sophomore S
Christen Miller Georgia Junior DT
Kyle Efford Georgia Tech Junior LB
Gabe Jacas Illinois Senior OLB
Xavier Scott Illinois Senior DB
Mikail Kamara Indiana Senior DE
Aiden Fisher Indiana Senior LB
D’Angelo Ponds Indiana Junior CB
Aaron Graves Iowa Senior DT
Domonique Orange Iowa State Senior DT
Jontez Williams Iowa State Junior CB
Jacob Thomas James Madison Senior S
Austin Romaine Kansas State Junior LB
Tyree Skipper Louisiana Senior S
Harold Perkins Jr. LSU Junior LB
Whit Weeks LSU Junior LB
William Whitlow Jr. Memphis Senior DE
Rueben Bain Jr. Miami Junior DE
OJ Frederique Jr. Miami Sophomore CB
Jaishawn Barham Michigan Senior LB
Derrick Moore Michigan Senior ED
Koi Perich Minnesota Sophomore S
Isaac Smith Mississippi State Junior S
Landon Robinson Navy Senior NG
Sean Brown NC State Senior LB
Caden Fordham NC State Senior LB
Mac Uihlein Northwestern Junior LB
Drayk Bowen Notre Dame Junior LB
Leonard Moore Notre Dame Sophomore CB
DJ Walker Ohio Sophomore S
Sonny Styles Ohio State Senior LB
Caleb Downs Ohio State Junior S
R Mason Thomas Oklahoma Senior DE
Jason Henderson Old Dominion Senior LB
Suntarine Perkins Ole Miss Junior LB
Dillon Thieneman Oregon Junior S
Bryce Boettcher Oregon Senior LB
Matayo Uiagalelei Oregon Junior OLB
A.J. Harris Penn State Junior CB
Zane Durant Penn State Senior DT
Dani Dennis-Sutton Penn State Senior DE
Kyle Louis Pitt Junior LB
Rasheem Biles Pitt Junior LB
Trey White San Diego State Junior ED
Jordan Pollard San Jose State Senior LB
Isaiah Nwokobia SMU Senior S
Dylan Stewart South Carolina Sophomore ED
Josh Moten Southern Miss Senior CB
Bud Clark TCU Senior S
Jermod McCoy Tennessee Junior CB
Arion Carter Tennessee Junior LB
Colin Simmons Texas Sophomore ED
Anthony Hill Jr. Texas Junior LB
Michael Taaffe Texas Senior S
Taurean York Texas A&M Junior LB
Will Lee III Texas A&M Senior CB
Jacob Rodriguez Texas Tech Senior LB
Lee Hunter Texas Tech Senior DT
David Bailey Texas Tech Senior ED
Avery Smith Toledo Senior CB
Santana Hopper Tulane Junior DE
Kamari Ramsey USC Junior S
Smith Snowden Utah Junior CB
Bryan Longwell Vanderbilt Junior LB
Tacario Davis Washington Senior CB
Semifinalists for the Bednarik Award will be announced November 11, 2025, while the three finalists for the Bednarik Award will be unveiled November 25, 2025. The winner of the 31st Bednarik Award will be announced as part of the ESPN Home Depot College Football Awards Show held on December 11, 2025. The formal presentations of the Bednarik Award will be made at the Maxwell Football Club Awards on Friday, March 13, 2026, in Atlanta, Georgia.
2024 - Travis Hunter, Colorado, QB
2023 - Payton Wilson, NC State, LB
2022 - Will Anderson, Jr., Alabama, DE
2021 - Jordan Davis, Georgia, DT
2020 - Zaven Collins, Tulsa, LB
2019 - Chase Young, Ohio State, DL
2018 - Josh Allen, Kentucky, LB
2017 - Minkah FItzpatrick, Alabama, DB
2016 - Jonathan Allen, Alabama, DE
2015 - Tyler Matakevich, Temple, LB
2014 - Scooby Wright, Arizona, LB
2013 - Aaron Donald, Pittsburgh, DT
2012 - Manti Te'o, Notre Dame, LB
2011 - Tyrann Mathieu, LSU, CB
2010 - Patrick Peterson, LSU, DB
2009 - Ndamukong Suh, Nebraska, DT
2008 - Rey Maualuga, USC, LB
2007 - Dan Connor, Penn State, LB
2006 - Paul Posluszny, Penn State, LB
2005 - Paul Posluszny, Penn State, LB
2004 - David Pollack, Georgia, DE
2003 - Teddy Lehman, Oklahoma, LB
2002 - E.J. Henderson, Maryland, LB
2001 - Julius Peppers, North Carolina, DE
2000 - Dan Morgan, Miami (FL), LB
1999 - LaVar Arrington, Penn State, LB
1998 - Dat Nguyen, Texas A&M, LB
1997 - Charles Woodson, Michigan, DB
1996 - Pat Fitzgerald, Northwestern, LB
1995 - Pat Fitzgerald, Northwestern, LB
Founded in 1935, the Maxwell Football Club 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, the NFL Foundation, Montage Mountain Resort, College Football Dawgs, Bradford White, DCH Health System, Limitless NIL, SRA Inc, the ETC Foundation and the Bradly Law Firm.
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Founded in 1997, the NCFAA includes college football’s most prestigious awards and its 24 awards have honored more than 900 recipients dating back to 1935. This season, 12 NCFAA awards will honor national players of the week each Tuesday. For more information about the NCFAA and its award programs, visit the NCFAA.org or follow on X at @NCFAA.
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