Three Georgia Bulldogs named to 2014 Bednarik Award watch list

The preseason award watch lists will begin rolling out this week, and today the Bednarik Award watch list was released, with three Georgia Bulldogs being named as possible candidates for the award.

Three linebackers – Ramik Wilson, Leonard Floyd and Jordan Jenkins – were all named to the Bednarik Award watch list, which is awarded annually to the nation’s top defensive player as determined by the Maxwell Football Club. It was named after Chuck Bednarik, a three-time All-American at the University of Pennsylvania.

Current Northwestern head coach Pat Fitzgerald was the award winner each of the first two years it was presented (1995 and 1996), and Penn State has had four winners, the most of any school. Last year’s winner was Pittsburgh DE Aaron Donald.

The Bednarik Award

The only surprising thing about this announcement is that senior ILB Amarlo Herrera wasn’t also included on the list. However, being only a “watch list” means that these are the guys the voters will be keeping an eye on. Anyone can step up and take the award by the season’s end.

If last season’s performances are any indication, this could end up being a horse race between the four starting Georgia linebackers as to who is going to take this award home.

There are 76 total players named to the list, and Georgia’s three candidates puts them second behind only Stanford, who has four players named to the list.

You can see the complete list of players named here.

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