2012 Bednarik Award Watch List

07/09/2012

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The 2012 Bednarik Award Watch List for the college football defensive player of the year was announced earlier this morning by the Maxwell Football Club. The award is named in honor of former Penn and Philadelphia Eagles player Chuck Bednarik. 

Tyrann Mathieu of LSU is a strong early favorite since he was last season's winner and he would be the third player to win the award twice. The long list of 65 has plenty of other potential contenders. NC State cornerback David Amerson and Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te'o put up impressive numbers in 2011. Amerson had 13 interceptions and Te'o had 128 tackles last season.   

Alabama, LSU, and Michigan State have the most players listed with four each. Florida State, Texas, USC, and Virginia Tech have the next most with three each. For conferences, the SEC has the most with 15 and Big Ten is close behind with 14. 

You can find more information about the Maxwell award at MaxwellFootballClub.Org.

Players Listed per Conference: 
SEC: 15
Big Ten: 14
Big 12: 11
ACC: 10
Pac 12: 9
Big East: 4
Conference USA: 1
Independents: 1

Players Listed per Position:
Defensive Tackle: 8
Defensive End: 15
Linebacker: 20
Cornerback: 16
Safety: 6

2012 Bednarik Award Watch List:
LB Sr. Nico Johnson, Alabama
CB Sr. Robert Lester, Alabama
LB Jr. C.J. Mosley, Alabama
DT Sr. Jesse Williams, Alabama
DE Sr. Trevardo Williams, Connecticut
DT Jr. Shariff Floyd, Florida
DE Sr. Brandon Jenkins, Florida State
S Jr. Lamarcus Joyner, Florida State
CB Jr. Xavier Rhodes, Florida State
DT Sr. Jonathan Jenkins, Georgia
LB Jr. Jarvis Jones, Georgia
LB Jr. Jonathan Brown, Illinois
DE Sr. Michael Buchanan, Illinois
CB Sr. Micah Hyde, Iowa
LB Jr. James Morris, Iowa
LB Sr. A.J. Klein, Iowa State
LB Sr. Jake Knott, Iowa State
LB Sr. Arthur Brown, Kansas State
CB Sr. Nigel Malone, Kansas State
CB Jr. Tyrann Mathieu, LSU
DE Jr. Barkevious Mingo, LSU
DE Jr. Sam Montgomery, LSU
S Jr. Eric Reid, LSU
DT Sr. Joe Vellano, Maryland
CB Sr. Ray-Ray Armstrong, Miami
CB Sr. Johnny Adams, Michigan State
LB Jr. Denicos Allen, Michigan State
LB Jr. Max Bullough, Michigan State
DE Jr. William Gholston, Michigan State
CB Sr. Jonathan Banks, Mississippi State
CB Jr. David Amerson, NC State
LB Sr. Kevin Reddick, North Carolina
LB Sr. Manti Te'o, Notre Dame
DT Jr. Johnathan Hankins, Ohio State
DE Sr. John Simon, Ohio State
CB Sr. Demontre Hurst, Oklahoma
S Jr. Tony Jefferson, Oklahoma
CB Sr. Brodrick Brown, Oklahoma State
S Sr. John Boyett, Oregon
DE Sr. Dion Jordan, Oregon
CB Sr. Jordan Poyer, Oregon State
LB Sr. Gerald Hodges, Penn State
DT Jr. Aaron Donald, Pittsburgh
CB Jr. Ricardo Allen, Purdue
DT Sr. Kawann Short, Purdue
LB Sr. Khaseem Greene, Rutgers
CB Sr. Logan Ryan, Rutgers
DE So. Jadeveon Clowney, South Carolina 
DE Sr. Devin Taylor, South Carolina
DE Sr. Jamie Collins, Southern Mississippi
LB Sr. Shayne Skov, Stanford
LB Sr. Chase Thomas, Stanford
DE Jr. Stansly Maponga, TCU
DE Jr. Jackson Jeffcoat, Texas
DE Sr. Alex Okafor, Texas
S Sr. Kenny Vaccaro, Texas
LB Sr. Sean Porter, Texas A&M
LB So. Dion Bailey, USC
S Sr. T.J. McDonald, USC
CB Jr. Nickell Robey, USC
DT Sr. Star Lotulelei, Utah
CB Jr. Kyle Fuller, Virginia Tech
DE Jr. James Gayle, Virginia Tech
LB Sr. Bruce Taylor, Virginia Tech
LB Jr. Chris Borland, Wisconsin 

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Dynamic Dozen Heisman Contenders.

10/14/2011

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This is a list of Heisman Trophy contenders. I ranked them on who I feel is most worthy, but I also included information on the current leaders.

The frontrunners early on are quarterbacks Andrew Luck and Russell Wilson. Robert Griffin III is my early leader, but among Heisman voters Luck is still heavily favored to win. RG3 began this season with a big win over TCU and has only thrown one interception so far. Luck is undoubtedly the top NFL prospect in college football and is coming off of last season’s hype as Heisman runner up. In Wisconsin, they now have hope of a national championship behind their star transfer Wilson that already helped the Badgers thump Nebraska. 
 
It is midseason so the race is still wide open. There are a couple of running backs that are just a big game or two away from being vaulted to the top of Heisman contention. Trent Richardson is still a strong contender and LaMichael James was running himself back into the race until an injury to his elbow which may keep him out of it.There are also long shot contenders that could rise. LSU CB Tyrann Mathieu is in the running, but he will need to keep putting up eye popping stats to stay in contention as a defensive player. Oklahoma QB Landry Jones jumped to number two on the website Stiff Arm Trophy after last weekend's demolition of Texas. 

I actually included 13 players in the Dynamic Dozen since LaMichael James is injured and I felt that AJ Jenkins is the best wide receiver worth mentioning so I have him tied with Denard Robinson for the last spot. 
 
1. Robert Griffin III QB Baylor, 360 pass/rush ypg, 21 total touchdowns, 80.3% completion, 212.9 passer rating.

2. Andrew Luck QB Stanford, 276.6 passing ypg, 73.1% completion, 15 total touchdowns.

3. Russell Wilson QB Wisconsin, 272.2 passing ypg, 74.8% completion, 15 total touchdowns, 216.9 passer rating.

4. Brandon Weeden QB Oklahoma State, 376 passing ypg, 15 passing touchdowns, 75.8% completion.

5. Trent Richardson RB Alabama, 146.3 rush/receiving ypg, 12 total touchdowns. 

6. Tyrann Mathieu CB LSU, 4 forced fumbles, 3 fumbles recovered, 2 interceptions, 5 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks, 2 touchdowns.

7. Kellen Moore QB Boise State, 278.2 passing ypg, 17 passing touchdowns, 171.6 passer rating, 74% completion.

8. Landry Jones QB Oklahoma, 362.8 passing ypg, 15 total touchdowns. 

9. Case Keenum QB Houston, 384.8 passing ypg, 17 passing touchdowns, 71.4% completion, 174.8 passer rating.

10. LaMichael James RB Oregon, 202.2 rush/receiving ypg, 9 total touchdowns. 

11. Marcus Lattimore RB South Carolina, 155.3 rush/receiving ypg, 10 total touchdowns

12t. Denard Robinson QB Michigan, 308.3 pass/rush ypg, 18 total touchdowns

12t. AJ Jenkins WR Illinois, 135.8 receiving ypg, 7 receiving touchdowns.

Some other players just out of the Heisman spotlight: David Wilson RB Virginia Tech, Tajh Boyd QB Clemson, Matt Barkley QB USC, Tyler Wilson QB Arkansas, Geno Smith QB West Virginia, and Robert Woods WR USC.

Links to other Heisman lists and information: 

Heisman Watch Week 7 ESPN Expert’s Poll
http://espn.go.com/college-football/heisman11/

Week 6: Jones replaces Wilson in top two.
http://www.stiffarmtrophy.com/

2011 Heisman Trophy Predictions
http://www.docsports.com/current/heisman-trophy-predictions.html

LaMichael James' Heisman hopes falter in wake of elbow injury.
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2011/writers/cory_mccartney/10/10/heisman-watch/index.html

Honey Badger for Heisman.
http://insider.espn.go.com/college-football/blog/_/name/mcgee_ncf_ryan/id/7087248/cfb-lsu-tigers-db-tyrann-mathieu-heisman-case
 
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