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College football’s award watch list season is drawing near a close, but a couple of Penn State players managed to get their names on a notable watch list this week. Defensive end Abdul Carter and safety Kevin Winston Jr. were each named on this year’s watch list for the Chuck Bednarik Award, which honors the nation’s top defensive player by the Maxwell Football Club.
Carter has also appeared on the watch lists for the Lott IMPACT Trophy, Bronko Nagurski Trophy, and the Walter Camp Player of the Year. Carter made a notable offseason move from linebacker to defensive end, although head coach James Franklin has suggested fans will see Carter play multiple positions this season depending on what the defense needs.
Penn State has had three players combine for four all-time Bednarik Awards in program history. LaVar Arrington was the first Nittany Lion to win the award in 1999. Paul Posluszny won back-to-back Bednarik Awards in 2005 and 2006 to become the second two-time and back-to-back winner of the award (Northwestern’s Pat Fitzgerald won the first two Bednarik Awards in 1995 and 1996). Dan Conner made it three Bednarik Awards in a row with his honor in 2007.
Last year’s winner of the Bednarik Award was NC State linebacker Payton Wilson (now with the Pittsburgh Steelers). The last Big Ten player to win the Bednarik Award was Ohio State defensive end Chase Young in 2019.
Other notable past winners of the Bednarik Award include Ndamukong Suh (Nebraska, 2009), Patrick Peterson (LSU, 2010) Aaron Donald (Pittsburgh, 2013), Julius Peppers (North Carolina, 2001), and Charles Woodson (Michigan, 1997).
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Story originally appeared on Nittany Lions Wire
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/abdul-carter-kevin-winston-jr-203334469.html
Author : Nittany Lions Wire
Publish date : 2024-08-13 20:33:34
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