The 2024 Bednarik Award Watch List: 61-70

The Chuck Bednarik Award is given annually to the top defensive player in college football. This season, the award enters its 30th season and has only seen two repeat winners. Pat Fitzgerald, who played linebacker at Northwestern in 1995 and 1996, and Paul Posluszny, who played linebacker at Penn State in 2005 and 2006. The winner's list of the award reads as a who's who of some of the top defenders in the country since the creation of the award in 1995. This season's watch list keeps that tradition with some of the best defenders in the country being named to the awards 90-man watch list.

The award is named after Bednarik, who had a legendary football career and was selected to the NFL Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility in 1967. After playing both linebacker and center for the University of Penn Quakers, he was one of the last two-way players and earned the nickname "60-Minute Man." He was selected with the first overall pick in the 1949 NFL Draft by the Philadelphia Eagles where he would play his entire 14-year career. With the Eagles, he was a two-time NFL Champion and was the last player in NFL history to play full-time on both offense and defense. In 1960, while playing for the Eagles, he also became known for "The Hit" when he made a tackle on Frank Gifford, then halfback of the New York Giants, that left Gifford unconscious.

Peter Woods, Defensive Tackle, Clemson

Woods quickly made a name for himself as a Freshman All-American in his first year with the Tigers in 2023. He made 26 tackles in his 12 games of 2023 with 2.5 tackles for a loss and a forced fumble. He's an athletic, versatile defender who can play anywhere along the defensive line.

With a quick first step, he can naturally combine speed and power when engaging blockers and disrupting the offense. He is a high-motor player who does well in engaging and shedding blockers with violent hands. He's got solid instincts to chase the ball carrier and can close quickly to make the tackle.

Barrett Carter, Linebacker, Clemson

Entering his final season with the Tigers, Carter has started in 26 of 38 games to date. Last season he recorded 67 tackles (9.5 for a loss), 3.5 sacks, 6 pass breakups, an interception and he also recovered a fumble. With a rare combination of speed and agility, Carter can cover sideline-to-sideline for the Tigers and is effective both in pass coverage and run defense.

He's a disciplined defender who can quickly read and react to opposing offenses and is physical when engaging blockers and making tackles. With the versatility to play various positions along the defensive formation, Carter shows great instincts to pursue the ball carrier and takes great angles to disrupt the offense in the backfield or chase down the ball carrier.

Patrick Payton, Defensive End, Florida State

Coming off his best season in 2023 when he recorded 44 tackles (14.5 for a loss), 7 sacks, 10 pass breakups and two forced fumbles, Payton enters this season as one of the leaders on the defensive side of the ball for the Seminoles. He's got great instincts and agility to adjust his plan of attack as the play happens.

He shows good hand usage to engage defenders and the awareness to swat the ball away and disrupt passing lanes while engaged with blockers. A relentless motor to disrupt offenses and chase down ball carriers when the play is away from him. He's quick to close on opposing quarterbacks in the backfield and shows elite agility to counter and shed blockers along the way.

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Joshua Farmer, Defensive Tackle, Florida State

As Farmer gets set for his junior season, he is coming off his best season after starting 13 games in 2023 with 32 tackles (7 for a loss), 5 sacks and a forced fumble. He's got a great first step and is a physical player. He uses his strength to power blockers backward and collapse the pocket for opposing quarterbacks. He uses his hands well to both engage blockers and keeps his hands active to counter and shed blockers and make plays. He's got good instincts to pursue the ball carrier and plays through the whistle. He's got a great combination of power and speed to simply be disruptive for opposing offenses.

Rueben Bain Jr., Defensive End, Miami

As a true freshman, Bain earned Atlantic Coast Conference Defensive Rookie of the Year honors in dominant fashion after a great season. With a unique combination of a high motor and being a technician, Bain quickly established himself as one of the top defenders in the conference.

Bain plays with a physicality and a quick first step that allows him to be a disruptive force in the opponent's backfields. Last season he recorded 44 tackles (12.5 for loss) and 7.5 sacks. Although more of a fit as an edge defender, Bain has the versatility to play inside as well. Bain's quick first step allows him to gain the advantage against would-be blockers. He also has a great ability to read and react to the offense quickly and effectively during the game.

Francisco Mauigoa, Linebacker, Miami

Mauigoa is an instinctual player with a solid ability to read and react. He has great lateral agility to cover or pursue sideline to sideline. He is a missile that seeks out opposing ball carriers and consistently finishes tackles. Mauigoa has improved his production each year and is coming off his best season and first as a full-time starter in 2023. He recorded 82 tackles (18 for loss), 7.5 sacks, 2 forced fumbles and an interception. He's demonstrated a high football IQ and can get to favorable positions to impact the game. He uses his hands well to not only engage blockers but to shed the initial block and make a play on the ball carrier.

Marlowe Wax, Linebacker, Syracuse

Wax is an impactful defender who improved his production year to year. Has started a team-best 38-straight starts. He's got a quick first step and a good change of direction to read and react. Wax has shown a solid football IQ to identify offensive plays. Wax has good hand use when engaging blockers and attacks downhill to disrupt the offense and make tackles. Has the versatility to play well in pass coverage and against the run. Wax has shown a good ability to close quickly and takes proper angles to chase down the ball carrier. He is coming off his most productive season with 110 tackles (11.5 for loss), 4 sacks, 4 forced fumbles and his first career interception. He ranks second in Syracuse history with 8 career forced fumbles and has led the team in tackles in back-to-back seasons. He could be the first player in Syracuse history to lead the team in three straight seasons.

Jonas Sanker, Safety, Virginia

Strongest playing close to the line of scrimmage, Sanker has shown solid speed and instincts to defend the run and attack the line of scrimmage. He attacks downhill and finishes his tackles strong. Sanker has good instincts to pursue the ball carrier and uses his hands well to cause turnover chances. Sanker has shown a good ability to change direction and attack downhill to seek out the ball carrier. Sanker can cover and uses his long strides to keep pace with receivers. He also has shown good instincts to disrupt passing lanes by getting his hands in the air and can track the ball well while in coverage. A starter in 21 of Virginia's last 22 games, Sanker is coming off his best season of production with 107 tackles (4 for loss), 3 forced fumbles and 11 pass breakups. Heading into his senior season, Sanker will be a leader for his team on the defensive side.

Antwaun Powell-Ryland, Defensive End, Virginia Tech

A versatile defender, Powell-Ryland is coming off an impressive 2023 campaign that saw him record 14.5 tackles for loss on 40 total tackles. He also had a career-best 9.5 sacks. Powell-Ryland explodes with his first step and quickly gains the advantage to disrupt opposing quarterbacks. Relentless in his pursuit of the ball carrier, he plays through the whistle.

He's got the athletic ability and the football IQ to drop into coverage against the pass but read and react to plays quickly and effectively. Powell-Ryland uses his hands well to engage blockers quickly and can shed the initial blocker and disrupt offense or pursue the ball carrier. He has the athletic ability to make plays all over the field.

Aeneas Peebles, Defensive Tackle, Virginia Tech

A good combination of quickness and power for the interior defensive line of the Hokies. Peebles has a great first step that allows him to gain the advantage against blockers and win at the line of scrimmage. He's got the agility and versatility to line up at various spots along the defensive line. Peebles is a high-motor player with good instincts and the football IQ to read and react to the plays as they happen. Peebles has improved his production each season and is coming off his best season with 43 tackles (8.5 for loss) and 5 sacks in 2023. After four seasons playing for Duke, Peebles looks to make his mark on the season as a leader for the Hokies defense.

Check out who else made the Bednarik Award Watch List!

Also, check out who is on the Maxwell Award Watch List!

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