PHILADELPHIA – Texas A&M safety Dalton Brooks was named to the Preseason Watch List for the 32nd annual Chuck Bednarik Award, as announced by the Maxwell Football Club on Friday. The award is presented annually to the nation’s top college defensive player.
Brooks, a native of Shiner, Texas, was named a team captain ahead of the 2026 season after making 11 starts in 12 games last season. He finished the year third on the team with 62 tackles and compiled 6.5 tackles for loss, 4.0 sacks, two fumble recoveries, one forced fumble and one interception. Across a three-year career in Aggieland, Brooks has totaled 139 tackles, 13.0 tackles for loss, 5.0 sacks and three interceptions. The senior has recorded five or more tackles in a game 13 times, including a career-best 12 stops at Texas last season.
The Bednarik Award has been presented to the College Defensive Player of the Year since 1994. It is named in honor of Chuck “Concrete Charlie” Bednarik, who was an All-American player at the University of Pennsylvania and later an NFL Hall of Fame linebacker and center who played his entire career with the Philadelphia Eagles. Bednarik is renowned as one of the last true two-way players in the NFL. The award recognizes defenders whose dominance, physicality and consistency shape games at the highest level of college football.
Semifinalists for the Chuck Bednarik Award will be announced Nov. 10, while the three finalists will be unveiled Nov. 24. The winner of the 32nd Chuck Bednarik Award will be announced as part of the ESPN Home Depot College Football Awards Show held on Dec. 10. The formal presentations of the Chuck Bednarik Award will be made at the Maxwell Football Club Awards on Saturday, March 13, 2027, at the Coca Cola Roxy Theater in Atlanta, Georgia.
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