The Maxwell Football Club announces its Watch List for the 32nd Bednarik Award!

The Maxwell Football Club announces its
Watch List for the 32nd Bednarik Award!

The Maxwell Football Club today announced its watch list for the 32nd 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 3 returning 2025 semifinalists: Quincy Rhoades (Arkansas) , Xavier Atkins (Auburn), and Leonard Moore (Notre Dame). Alabama, BYU, Georgia, Indiana, LSU, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, and Texas Tech lead the way with 3 candidates each, and 10 conferences are represented, led by the SEC (24), Big10 (19), Big12 (17), and ACC (12).

Last year’s Chuck Bednarik Award winner was Jacob Rodriguez. (Texas Tech) who went on to be the 2rd round selection of the Miami Dolphins in the 2025 NFL Draft. Rodriguez was the first Texas Tech player to win the Bednarik Award.

Candidates are listed below in alphabetical order by school with class year noted.