Leal Named Bednarik Semifinalist

PHILADELPHIA, Pa. - Texas A&M football's DeMarvin Leal was named a semifinalist for the Chuck Bednarik Award, announced Monday by Maxwell Football Club.
 
The Chuck Bednarik Award has been presented to the College Defensive Player of the Year since 1995 and is named in honor of Chuck Bednarik, a former standout at the University of Pennsylvania and with the Philadelphia Eagles. Bednarik is a member of both the College Football Hall of Fame's Class of '69 and the NFL Hall of Fame's Class of '67.
 
Leal, a junior defensive lineman from San Antonio, Texas, is widely regarded as one of the country's most disruptive defenders. In eight games this season, the versatile athlete has posted a career-high 8.5 tackles for loss, 5.5 quarterback sacks and averages 4.5 tackles per game.
 
Semifinalist voting for Bednarik Award presented by the Maxwell Football Club will begin on Tuesday Nov. 2 and will close on Nov. 20. Three finalists will be announced on Nov. 23 and a finalist round of voting will take place at that time. Eligible voters include Maxwell Football Club members, NCAA head football coaches, sports information directors and selected national media. All semifinalists are listed in alphabetical order by school with the player's school, position and class designated.
 
The winner of the 27th Chuck Bednarik Award will be announced as part of the ESPN Home Depot College Football Awards Show, which will be broadcast live on ESPN on December 9, 2021. The formal presentation of the Chuck Bednarik Award will take place at the 85th Maxwell Awards Gala, which will be held at Tropicana Atlantic City on Friday March 11, 2022. 
 
 

First	Last	School	Year	Position	Conference
Will	Anderson	Alabama	Sophomore	OLB	SEC
Roger	McCreary	Auburn	Senior	CB	SEC
Ahmad	Gardner	Cincinnati	Junior	CB	AAC
Jermaine	Johnson	Florida State	Redshirt Senior	DE	ACC
Jordan	Davis	Georgia	Senior	DT	SEC
Nakobe	Dean	Georgia	Junior	LB	SEC
Aidan	Hutchinson	Michigan	Senior	DE	Big 10
Kyle	Hamilton	Notre Dame	Junior	S	IND
Nik	Bonitto	Oklahoma	Junior	LB	Big 12
Kayvon	Thibodeaux	Oregon	Sophomore	OLB	PAC 12
Jaquan	Brisker	Penn State	Redshirt Senior	S	Big 10
George	Karlaftis	Purdue	Junior	DE	Big 10
Cameron	Thomas	San Diego State	Junior	DE	Mountain West
Kingsley	Enagbare	South Carolina	Senior	DE	SEC
DeMarvin	Leal	Texas A&M	Junior	DT	SEC
Devin	Lloyd	Utah	Junior	LB	PAC 12
Leo	Chenal	Wisconsin	Junior	LB	Big 10
Chad	Muma	Wyoming	Junior	LB	Mountain West