Middle Tennessee State University Athletics
Blankenship named to Bednarik Award Watch List
7/15/2019 12:00:00 PM | Football
PHILADELPHIA - The Maxwell Football Club today announced its watch list for the 25th annual Chuck Bednarik Award and Middle Tennessee's Reed Blankenship made the prestigious list.
The Bednarik Award has been presented to the College Defensive Player of the Year since 1995. Chuck Bednarik, former standout at Penn and with the Philadelphia Eagles, 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.
Blankenship, out of Athens, AL, is coming off a career year where he earned first team all-conference honors after leading the Blue Raiders with 107 total tackles. The junior also had 8.0 TFLs, four interceptions and seven pass breakups. His four interceptions ranked 16th nationally.
In October last year at Old Dominion, Blankenship made national headlines after returning an interception 100 yards for a touchdown. He also added 17 tackles (9 solos), a sack, and 3.0 TFL's to earn the Bronko Nagurski National Defensive Player of the Week award.
The watch list will once again incorporate a broad spectrum of Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) programs and conferences from coast to coast.
The Bednarik Award is a member of the National College Football Awards Association (NCFAA), which encompasses the most prestigious awards in college football. Founded in 1997, the NCFAA and its 25 awards now boast over 800 recipients, dating to 1935. Visit ncfaa.org to learn more about the association.
Semifinalists for the Bednarik Awards will be announced October 29, 2019, while the finalists will be unveiled November 25, 2019. The winner of the 2019 Bednarik Award will be announced as part of the Home Depot College Football Awards Show held on December 12, 2019. The formal presentation of the award will be made at the Maxwell Football Club Awards Gala hosted by Tropicana Hotel & Casino Atlantic City on March 13, 2020.
The Bednarik Award has been presented to the College Defensive Player of the Year since 1995. Chuck Bednarik, former standout at Penn and with the Philadelphia Eagles, 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.
Blankenship, out of Athens, AL, is coming off a career year where he earned first team all-conference honors after leading the Blue Raiders with 107 total tackles. The junior also had 8.0 TFLs, four interceptions and seven pass breakups. His four interceptions ranked 16th nationally.
In October last year at Old Dominion, Blankenship made national headlines after returning an interception 100 yards for a touchdown. He also added 17 tackles (9 solos), a sack, and 3.0 TFL's to earn the Bronko Nagurski National Defensive Player of the Week award.
The watch list will once again incorporate a broad spectrum of Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) programs and conferences from coast to coast.
The Bednarik Award is a member of the National College Football Awards Association (NCFAA), which encompasses the most prestigious awards in college football. Founded in 1997, the NCFAA and its 25 awards now boast over 800 recipients, dating to 1935. Visit ncfaa.org to learn more about the association.
Semifinalists for the Bednarik Awards will be announced October 29, 2019, while the finalists will be unveiled November 25, 2019. The winner of the 2019 Bednarik Award will be announced as part of the Home Depot College Football Awards Show held on December 12, 2019. The formal presentation of the award will be made at the Maxwell Football Club Awards Gala hosted by Tropicana Hotel & Casino Atlantic City on March 13, 2020.
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