UVA free safety Quin Blanding has been named to the preseason Bednarik Award Watch List, the Maxwell Football Club announced Tuesday.
The Bednarik Award has been presented to the College Defensive Player of the Year since 1995. Chuck Bednarik, a former standout at Penn and with the Philadelphia Eagles, is a member of both the College Football Hall of Fame (class of 1969) and the NFL Hall of Fame (class of 1967).
Blanding (So., Virginia Beach, Va.) was the ACC Defensive Rookie of the Year in 2014 after finishing the regular season No. 2 in the ACC with 123 tackles, while also leading the nation’s freshmen. Blanding also was named Scout.com’s National Defensive Rookie of the Year, while also earning numerous Freshman All-America distinctions from various outlets, including by Athlon Sports. Blanding was also named a 2015 preseason All-American by Athlon Sports (third-team) and Phil Steele (fourth-team).
Semifinalists for the Bednarik Award will be announced Nov. 2, 2015, while the three finalists will be unveiled Nov. 23, 2015. The winner of the 2015 Bednarik Award will be announced as part of the Home Depot College Football Awards Show held on Dec. 10, 2015. The formal presentations of these awards will be made at the Maxwell Football Club Awards Gala hosted by Revel Casino Hotel Atlantic City on March 11, 2016.
The Chuck Bednarik Award is a member of the National College Football Awards Association (NCFAA), which encompasses the most prestigious awards in college football. Visit www.NCFAA.org to learn more.
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