BATON ROUGE — For the second time in three weeks, LSU senior defensive end Marcus Spears has been named a semifinalist for a national award as he’s one of 12 players up for the Chuck Bednarik Award, the Maxwell Football Club announced on Monday.
The Bednarik Award is presented annually by the Maxwell Football Club to the outstanding defensive player in college football. Spears is also one of 12 players named as a semifinalist for the Lombardi Award.
Through eight games, Spears has been the catalyst for an LSU defense that ranks fifth in the nation in total defense, allowing 256.5 yards per game. In addition, the Tigers are fifth in the country in pass defense (154.4 yards per game), 17th in the nation against the run (102.1 yards per game) and 18th in scoring defense (15.9 points per game).
Spears leads the Tigers and ranks fourth in the Southeastern Conference in tackles for losses with 10 through eight games. He also has three 27 total tackles, three sacks, one fumble recovery and one forced fumble to his credit. Spears also returned an interception 35 yards for a touchdown against Mississippi State.
The three finalists for the award will be invited to Orlando, Fla., on Dec. 9 for the ESPN College Football Awards Show, where the winner will be announced.
| NAME | SCHOOL | POS | YR |
| Michael Boley | Southern Miss | LB | Sr. |
| Kevin Burnett | Tennessee | LB | Sr. |
| Dan Cody | Oklahoma | DL | Sr. |
| Shaun Cody | USC | DL | Sr. |
| Thomas Davis | Georgia | DB | Jr. |
| A.J. Hawk | Ohio State | LB | Jr. |
| Erasmus James | Wisconsin | DL | Sr. |
| Derrick Johnson | Texas | LB | Sr. |
| David Pollack | Georgia | DE | Sr. |
| Carlos Rogers | Auburn | DB | Sr. |
| Antrell Rolle | Miami | DB | Sr. |
| Marcus Spears | LSU | DE | Sr. |