Chuck Bednarik Award | |
| Awarded for | College defensive player of the year |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Presented by | Maxwell Football Club |
| History | |
| First award | 1995 |
| Most recent | CBTravis Hunter,Colorado |
| Website | maxwellfootballclub |
TheChuck Bednarik Award is presented annually to thedefensive player of the year incollege football as judged by theMaxwell Football Club to be the best in theUnited States. The award is named forChuck Bednarik, a former college and professionalAmerican football player. Voters for the Maxwell College Awards are NCAA head college football coaches, members of the Maxwell Football Club, and sportswriters and sportscasters from across the country. The Maxwell Club is located inPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania and the presentations are held inAtlantic City, New Jersey. Club members are given voting privileges for the award.
| Made at least onePro Bowl during career | |||||
| Inducted into thePro Football Hall of Fame | |||||
| Year | Player | Position | School | Draft | Ref | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | Pat Fitzgerald | LB | Northwestern (2) | Undrafted | ||
| 1996 | ||||||
| 1997 | Charles Woodson | CB | Michigan | 4th | [1] | |
| 1998 | Dat Nguyen | LB | Texas A&M | 85th | ||
| 1999 | LaVar Arrington | LB | Penn State | 2nd | ||
| 2000 | Dan Morgan | LB | Miami | 11th | ||
| 2001 | Julius Peppers | DE | North Carolina | 2nd | ||
| 2002 | E. J. Henderson | LB | Maryland | 40th | ||
| 2003 | Teddy Lehman | LB | Oklahoma | 37th | ||
| 2004 | David Pollack | LB | Georgia | 17th | ||
| 2005 | Paul Posluszny | LB | Penn State (3) | 34th | [2] | |
| 2006 | ||||||
| 2007 | Dan Connor | LB | Penn State (4) | 74th | ||
| 2008 | Rey Maualuga | LB | USC | 38th | ||
| 2009 | Ndamukong Suh | DT | Nebraska | 2nd | ||
| 2010 | Patrick Peterson | CB | LSU | 5th | [3] | |
| 2011 | Tyrann Mathieu | CB | LSU (2) | 69th | [4] | |
| 2012 | Manti Te'o | LB | Notre Dame | 38th | [5] | |
| 2013 | Aaron Donald | DT | Pittsburgh | 13th | [6] | |
| 2014 | Scooby Wright III | LB | Arizona | 250th | [7] | |
| 2015 | Tyler Matakevich | LB | Temple | 246th | [8] | |
| 2016 | Jonathan Allen | DT | Alabama | 17th | [9] | |
| 2017 | Minkah Fitzpatrick | CB | Alabama (2) | 11th | [10] | |
| 2018 | Josh Allen | LB | Kentucky | 7th | [11] | |
| 2019 | Chase Young | DE | Ohio State | 2nd | [12] | |
| 2020 | Zaven Collins | LB | Tulsa | 16th | [13] | |
| 2021 | Jordan Davis | DT | Georgia (2) | 13th | ||
| 2022 | Will Anderson Jr. | LB | Alabama (3) | 3rd | [14] | |
| 2023 | Payton Wilson | LB | NC State | 98th | ||
| 2024 | Travis Hunter | CB | Colorado | 2nd | [15] |