COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Four Mountain West football players are among the 90 student-athletes on the 2024 Chuck Bednarik Award Watch List, as announced today by the Maxwell Football Club. The award honors the outstanding defensive player in college football.

Boise State defensive end Ahmed Hassanein, UNLV linebacker Jackson Woodard, Utah State safety Ike Larsen and Wyoming defensive tackle Jordan Bertagnole represent the Mountain West on the initial watch list.

The MW’s four players on the watch list are tied for fifth-most in the FBS, trailing only the SEC, ACC, Big Ten and Big 12.

The Bednarik Award has been presented to the College Defensive Player of the Year since 1994 and is named in honor of Chuck “Concrete Charlie” Bednarik, who was an All-American player at the University of Pennsylvania and later a multiple-year All-Pro linebacker and center for the Philadelphia Eagles. He is a member of both the College and Pro Football Halls of Fame and was the last NFL player to be a full-time player on both offense and defense.

The Maxwell Football Club has once again partnered with Pro Football Focus (PFF) and Phil Steele Publications as selection committee partners. PFF provides detailed metrics and performance-based assessments to selection committee staff, with several senior PFF analysts are members of our selection committee. Phil Steele’s College Football Preview is generally recognized as the most complete preseason magazine.

Semifinalists for the Chuck Bednarik Award will be announced Nov. 12, while the three finalists for the Maxwell Award will be unveiled Nov. 26. The winners of the 30th Chuck Bednarik Award will be announced as part of the ESPN Home Depot College Football Awards Show held on Dec. 12. The formal presentations of the Chuck Bednarik Award will be made at the Maxwell Football Club Awards on Friday, March 14, 2025, at the College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta, Georgia.

Chuck Bednarik Award Watch List (MW representatives)
Ahmed Hassanein, Sr., DE, Boise State
Jackson Woodard, Sr., LB, UNLV
Ike Larsen, S, Jr., Utah State
Jordan Bertagnole, Gr., DT, Wyoming