The Maxwell Football Club announced today that linebacker Barrett Carter and defensive lineman Peter Woods have been named as two of 90 candidates on the watch list for the Chuck Bednarik Award, presented annually to the nation’s most outstanding defensive player. Additional information from the Maxwell Football Club is included below.
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The Maxwell Football Club today announced its watch list for the 30th 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.
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 4 returning 2023 semifinalists: Malaki Starks (Georgia) , Ashton Gillotte (Louisville), Howard Cross III (Notre Dame) and Jason Henderson (Old Dominion). Georgia, Iowa, Miami, Michigan and Ohio State lead the way with 3 candidates each and an additional 13 schools boast 2 players represented. 6 conferences are represented, SEC (21), ACC (19), Big10 (19), Big12 (13), AAC (4), MAC (4), Mountain West (4) and Sunbelt (3). There are also 3 Independents who have candidates listed.
Last year’s Chuck Bednarik Award winner was Payton Wilson Jr. (NC State) who went on to be the 3rd round selection of the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 2024 NFL Draft. Wilson was the first NC State player to win the Bednarik Award.
Candidates are listed below in alphabetical order by school.
DE CJ Nunnally, IV, Akron (Senior)
LB Deontae Lawson, Alabama (Junior)
S Malachi Moore, Alabama (Senior)
CB Tacario Davis, Arizona (Junior)
DE Landon Jackson, Arkansas (Senior)
LB Eugene Asante, Auburn (Senior)
DE Ahmed Hassanein, Boise State (Senior)
CB Jordan Oladokun, Bowling Green (Senior)
DE Tyler Batty, BYU (Senior)
DT Dontay Corleone, Cincinnati (Junior)
DT Peter Woods, Clemson (Sophom*ore)
LB Barrett Carter, Clemson (Senior)
ED B.J. Green, Colorado (Senior)
CB Travis Hunter, Colorado (Junior)
LB Tre Freeman, Duke (Junior)
CB Shavon Revel, East Carolina (Senior)
LB Shemar James, Florida (Junior)
DE Patrick Payton, Florida State (Junior)
DT Joshua Farmer, Florida State (Junior)
DE Mykel Williams, Georgia (Junior)
LB Smael Mondon, Georgia (Senior)
S Malaki Starks, Georgia (Junior)
DB Sebastian Castro, Iowa (Senior)
LB Jay Higgins, Iowa (Senior)
LB Nick Jackson, Iowa (Senior)
S Jeremiah Cooper, Iowa State (Junior)
CB Cobee Bryant, Kansas (Senior)
LB Austin Moore, Kansas State (Senior)
CB Maxwell Hairston, Kentucky (Junior)
DT Deone Walker, Kentucky (Junior)
CB Quincy Riley, Louisville (Senior)
DE Ashton Gillotte, Louisville (Senior)
LB Harold Perkins, LSU (Junior)
LB Chandler Martin, Memphis (Junior)
DE Rueben Bain, Jr., Miami (Sophom*ore)
LB Francisco Mauigoa, Miami (Senior)
LB Matt Salopek, Miami (OH) (Senior)
CB Will Johnson, Michigan (Junior)
DT Mason Graham, Michigan (Junior)
DT Kenneth Grant, Michigan (Junior)
LB Cody Lindenberg, Minnesota (Senior)
ED Johnny Walker Jr., Missouri (Senior)
LB Colin Ramos, Navy (Senior)
DE Davin Vann, NC State (Senior)
DT Nash Hutmacher, Nebraska (Senior)
ED Kaimon Rucker, North Carolina (Senior)
LB Power Echols, North Carolina (Senior)
LB Xander Mueller, Northwestern (Senior)
CB Benjamin Morrison, Notre Dame (Junior)
DT Howard Cross III, Notre Dame (Senior)
S Xavier Watts, Notre Dame (Senior)
CB Denzel Burke, Ohio State (Senior)
DE Jack Sawyer, Ohio State (Senior)
S Caleb Downs, Ohio State (Sophom*ore)
LB Danny Stutsman, Oklahoma (Senior)
S Billy Bowman Jr., Oklahoma (Senior)
LB Nick Martin, Oklahoma State (Junior)
LB Collin Oliver, Oklahoma State (Senior)
LB Jason Henderson, Old Dominion (Senior)
ED Princely Umanmielen, Ole Miss (Senior)
CB Jabbar Muhammad, Oregon (Junior)
DE Abdul Carter, Penn State (Junior)
S Kevin Winston Jr., Penn State (Junior)
S Donovan McMillon, Pitt (Senior)
S Dillon Thieneman, Purdue (Sophom*ore)
DE Elijah Roberts, SMU (Senior)
S Jaden Voisin, South Alabama (Senior)
DT Tonka Hemingway, South Carolina (Senior)
LB Marlowe Wax, Syracuse (Senior)
LB Namdi Obiazor, TCU (Senior)
ED James Pearce Jr., Tennessee (Junior)
DB Jahdae Barron, Texas (Senior)
DE Nic Scourton, Texas A&M (Junior)
DT Shemar Turner, Texas A&M (Senior)
DE Ben Bell, Texas State (Senior)
S Maxen Hook, Toledo (Senior)
DT Patrick Jenkins, Tulane (Senior)
DT Lee Hunter, UCF (Junior)
LB Jackson Woodard, UNLV (Senior)
DT Bear Alexander, USC (Junior)
DT Junior Tafuna, Utah (Senior)
S Ike Larsen, Utah State (Junior)
LB CJ Taylor, Vanderbilt (Senior)
S Jonas Sanker, Virginia (Senior)
DE Antwaun Powell-Ryland, Virginia Tech (Senior)
DT Aeneas Peebles, Virginia Tech (Senior)
DE Jasheen Davis, Wake Forest (Senior)
CB Ricardo Hallman, Wisconsin (Junior)
S Hunter Wohler, Wisconsin (Senior)
DT Jordan Bertagnole, Wyoming (Senior)
The Maxwell Football Club 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 12, 2024, while the three finalists for the Maxwell Award will be unveiled November 26, 2024. The winners of the 30th Chuck Bednarik Award will be announced as part of the ESPN Home Depot College Football Awards Show held on December 12, 2024. The formal presentations of the Chuck Bednarik Award will be made at the Maxwell Football Club Awards on Friday March 14, 2025 at the College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta, Georgia. Questions concerning the 2024 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, NFL Foundation, College Football Dawgs, Montage Mountain Resort, DCH Health System, Bradford White, Limitless NIL, SRA Inc, ETC Foundation and the Bradley Law Firm. 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 Maxwell Award is a member of the National College Football Awards Association (NCFAA), which encompasses college football’s most prestigious awards. The NCFAA’s 25 awards have honored more than 900 recipients since 1935. This season, 12 NCFAA awards will honor national players of the week each Tuesday
Sixteen NCFAA members are unveiling preseason watch lists over a two-week period as the association spearheads a coordinated effort to promote each award’s preseason candidates. Following is the remaining 2024 preseason watch list calendar:
Tue., Aug. 13: Butkus Award
