UW Athletics Press Release
LARAMIE, Wyo. (Aug. 12, 2024) – 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. Wyoming defensive tackle Jordan Bertagnole was named to the list. He was also named a candidate for the Outland trophy.
Bertagnole was named to the preseason All-Mountain West team and was named to the Shrine Bowl Preseason Watchlist.
Bertagnole started all 13 games en route to being named second-team All-Mountain West Conference and first-team All-MW by Phil Steele. He ranked fifth on the squad with 60 tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss, and two sacks. Bertagnole forced one fumble, had six quarterback hurries, and two pass break-ups.
He recorded multiple tackles in each game save for one. Bertagnole enjoyed a season-high nine tackles at UNLV while adding eight and seven tackles against Appalachian State and Portland State, respectively. He registered back-to-back contests with a pair of tackles for loss against Hawaii and Nevada.
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, 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 Pittsburgh Steelers' third-round selection in the 2024 NFL Draft. Wilson was the first NC State player to win the Bednarik Award.
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