The Chuck Bednarik Award is presented annually to the defensive player of the year in college football as judged by the Maxwell Football Club to be the best in the United States. The award is named for Chuck Bednarik, a former college and professional American 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 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and the presentations are held in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Club members are given voting privileges for the award.
Winners Made at least one Pro Bowl during career Inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame Year Player Position School Draft Ref. 1995 Pat Fitzgerald (2) LB Northwestern Undrafted (1997) 1996 Northwestern (2) 1997 Charles Woodson CB Michigan 4th 1998 Dat Nguyen DE Texas A&M 85th 1999 LaVar Arrington LB Penn State 2nd 2000 Dan Morgan LB Miami (FL) 11th 2001 Julius Peppers DE North Carolina 2nd 2002 E. J. Henderson LB Maryland 40th 2003 Teddy Lehman LB Oklahoma 37th 2004 David Pollack DE Georgia 17th 2005 Paul Posluszny (2) LB Penn State (2) 34th 2006 Penn State (3) 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 2011 Tyrann Mathieu CB LSU (2) 69th (2013) 2012 Manti Teʻo LB Notre Dame 38th 2013 Aaron Donald DT Pittsburgh 13th 2014 Scooby Wright LB Arizona 250th (2016) 2015 Tyler Matakevich LB Temple 246th 2016 Jonathan Allen DT Alabama 17th 2017 Minkah Fitzpatrick S Alabama (2) 11th 2018 Josh Allen LB Kentucky 7th 2019 Chase Young DE Ohio State 2nd 2020 Zaven Collins LB Tulsa 16th 2021 Jordan Davis DT Georgia (2) 13th 2022 Will Anderson Jr. LB Alabama (3) 3rd 2023 Payton Wilson LB NC State 98th 2024 Travis Hunter CB Colorado 2nd 2025 Jacob Rodriguez LB Texas Tech 43rd
See also Bronko Nagurski Trophy, a similar award given by the Football Writers Association of America
References General
Footnotes
External links Official website