Big 12 Players Highlight Bednarik Award, Maxwell Award Watch Lists
The first two college football award watch lists were released on Monday and Big 12 players figured prominently on both.
The Bednarik Award, given to the nation’s top defensive player and sponsored by the Maxwell Football Club, had 10 Big 12 players on its list. That included Iowa State cornerback Brian Peavy, Kansas defensive tackle Daniel Wise, Kansas linebacker Joe Dineen Jr., Oklahoma State linebacker Justin Phillips, TCU defensive end Ben Banogu, TCU linebacker Ty Summers, Texas linebacker Brecklyn Hager, Texas linebacker Gary Johnson, Texas Tech linebacker Dakota Allen and West Virginia linebacker David Long.
The Maxwell Award, also sponsored by the Maxwell Football Club, is given to the College Player of the Year. Last year’s winner was Oklahoma quarterback Baker Mayfield.
Big 12 players on that watch list included Iowa State running back David Montgomery, Kansas State running back Alex Barnes, Oklahoma running back Rodney Anderson, Oklahoma quarterback Kyler Murray, Oklahoma State running back Justice Hill, TCU running back Darius Anderson, West Virginia quarterback Will Grier and West Virginia wide receiver David Sills V.
Grier was named the Big 12 Preseason Offensive Player of the Year, and Banogu was named the Big 12 Preseason Defensive Player of the Year by the media. Grier has also found himself on various Heisman watch lists, with Vegas giving him the fourth-best odds of winning the award this year.
Additional players will be added to the watch list as the season goes on and the winners will be announced in December at the College Football Awards.
More award watch lists will be released in the next two weeks.
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