The Maxwell Football Club has officially released its list of current football standouts that have garnished enough stats and attention in their careers to make the preseason watch list for the 2014 Bednarik Award. The famous Bednarik Award is given to the best defensive player in the nation since 1995. Notable previous award winners include Tyrann Mathieu, Ndamukong Suh, Julius Peppers, Charles Woodson and many others.
Although winners of the award aren’t guaranteed success at the next level, it’s still a decent forecast of who will potentially make some noise professionally. The 2014 Bednarik nominees host a strong list of top college defenders from all over. Penn State tops the list with four winners, with LSU and Northwestern both following with two a piece.
A look at the full 2014 Bednarik watch list is below.
2014 Bednarik Award Watch List
| Player |
Pos. |
School |
Player |
Pos. |
School |
| Henry Anderson |
DE |
Stanford |
Myles Jack |
LB |
UCLA |
| Stephone Anthony |
LB |
Clemson |
Grady Jarrett |
DT |
Clemson |
| Vic Beasley |
DE |
Clemson |
Jordan Jenkins |
LB |
Georgia |
| Michael Bennett |
DT |
Ohio State |
A.J. Johnson |
LB |
Tennessee |
| Joey Bosa |
DE |
Ohio State |
Karl Joseph |
S |
West Virginia |
| Kelby Brown |
LB |
Duke |
Eric Kendricks |
LB |
UCLA |
| Malcom Brown |
DT |
Texas |
Hau’oli Kikaha |
LB |
Washington |
| Shilique Calhoun |
DE |
Michigan State |
Jordan Lucas |
CB |
Penn State |
| Alex Carter |
CB |
Stanford |
Luther Maddy |
DT |
Virginia Tech |
| Sam Carter |
S |
TCU |
Tyler Matakevich |
LB |
Temple |
| Jeremy Cash |
S |
Duke |
Lorenzo Mauldin |
LB |
Louisvile |
| Frank Clark |
DE |
Michigan |
Benardrick McKinney |
LB |
Mississippi State |
| Landon Collins |
S |
Alabama |
Ryan Mueller |
DE |
Kansas State |
| Christian Covington |
DT |
Rice |
Shawn Oakman |
DE |
Baylor |
| Su’a Cravens |
S |
USC |
Norkeithus Otis |
DE |
North Carolina |
| Carl Davis |
DT |
Iowa |
Denzel Perryman |
LB |
Miami |
| Trey DePriest |
LB |
Alabama |
Terrance Plummer |
LB |
UCF |
| Quandre Diggs |
CB |
Texas |
Cody Prewitt |
S |
Ole Miss |
| Lorenzo Doss |
CB |
Tulane |
Hayes Pullard |
LB |
USC |
| Kurtis Drummond |
S |
Michigan State |
Cedric Reed |
DE |
Texas |
| Alvin Dupree |
DE |
Kentucky |
Jordan Richards |
S |
Stanford |
| Mario Edwards |
DE |
Florida State |
A’Shawn Robinson |
DE |
Alabama |
| Ifo Ekpre-Olomu |
CB |
Oregon |
James Rouse |
DT |
Marshall |
| Kyler Fackrell |
LB |
Utah State |
KeiVarae Russell |
CB |
Notre Dame |
| Devonte Fields |
DE |
TCU |
Jake Ryan |
LB |
Michigan |
| Trey Flowers |
DE |
Arkansas |
Frank Shannon |
LB |
Oklahoma |
| Leonard Floyd |
LB |
Georgia |
Danny Shelton |
DT |
Washington |
| Dante Fowler |
DE |
Florida |
Derron Smith |
S |
Fresno State |
| Kendall Fuller |
CB |
Virginia Tech |
Jaylon Smith |
LB |
Notre Dame |
| Markus Golden |
DE |
Missouri |
Eric Striker |
LB |
Oklahoma |
| Randy Gregory |
DE |
Nebraska |
Charles Tapper |
DE |
Oklahoma |
| Bryce Hager |
LB |
Baylor |
A.J. Tarpley |
LB |
Stanford |
| Vernon Hargreaves III |
CB |
Florida |
Robenson Therezie |
S |
Auburn |
| Eli Harold |
DE |
Virginia |
Shaq Thompson |
LB |
Washington |
| Anthony Harris |
S |
Virginia |
Trae Waynes |
CB |
Michigan State |
| Ben Heeney |
LB |
Kansas |
Leonard Williams |
DE |
USC |
| Chucky Hunter |
DT |
TCU |
P.J. Williams |
CB |
Florida State |
| Martin Ifedi |
DE |
Memphis |
Ramik Wilson |
LB |
Georgia |
