BATON ROUGE – LSU junior linebacker Devin White and sophomore cornerback Greedy Williams were named to the 24th Chuck Bednarik Watch List, The Maxwell Football Club announced Monday.
The watch lists is the first of 16 set to be announced over the next two weeks. The Bednarik Award has been presented to the College Defensive Player of the Year since 1995. Patrick Peterson and Tyrann Mathieu took home the awards in 2010 and 2011.
White, a junior from Springhill, Louisiana, led the Southeastern Conference in tackles a year ago, registering 133 from his linebacker position. He became the first LSU player to lead the SEC in tackles since the early 1980s.
White set a league record by earning SEC Defensive Player of the Week honors four times in 2017. He also tied the school record for double-digit tackles in a season as he accomplished the feat eight times.
White earned second team All-America honors last year in what was his first season as a starter for the Tigers. In 25 career games, White has recorded 163 tackles and 5.5 sacks.
Williams, a sophomore from Shreveport, started all 13 games for the Tigers at cornerback in 2017. He led the SEC in interceptions with six on his way to earning third team All-America honors from the Associated Press.
Semifinalists for the Bednarik Award will be announced Oct. 29, while the three finalists for the award will be unveiled Nov. 19. The winner of the award will be announced as part of the Home Depot College Football Awards Show held on Dec. 6
The members of the NCFAA are unveiling their preseason watch lists over a 12-day period this month. Seventeen of the association’s 23 awards select a preseason watch list and the NCFAA has spearheaded a coordinated effort to promote each award’s preseason candidates. Following is the entire 2018 preseason watch list calendar:
2018 NCFAA Awards Preseason Watch List Calendar
Monday July 16: Bednarik Award / Maxwell Award
Tuesday July 17: Davey O’Brien Award
Wednesday July 18: Doak Walker Award
Thursday July 19: Biletnikoff Award
Friday July 20: Mackey Award & Rimington Award
Monday July 23: Thorpe Award & Butkus Award
Tuesday July 24: Outland Trophy & Nagurski Award
Wednesday July 25: Groza Award & Ray Guy Award
Thursday July 26: Hornung Award & Wuerffel Trophy
Friday July 27: Walter Camp Award