University of Connecticut Athletics
Travis Jones on 2021 Bednarik Award Watch List
7/19/2021 1:05:00 PM | Football
PHILADELPHIA - UConn defensive lineman Travis Jones has landed on the Bednarik Award Watch List, awarded to the best defensive player in college football.
The Chuck Bednarik Award has been presented to the College Defensive Player of the Year since 1995 and is named in honor of Chuck Bednarik, a former standout at the University of Pennsylvania and with the Philadelphia Eagles. Bednarik is a member of both the College Football Hall of Fame's Class of '69 and the NFL Hall of Fame's Class of '67.
The Bednarik Award watch list is comprised of 90 candidates on the defensive side of the ball. Last year's winner Zaven Collins (Tulsa) and fellow finalists Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah (Notre Dame) and Patrick Surtain II (Alabama) have all moved on to the NFL. The list features two returning semifinalists from 2020, Myjai Sanders (Cincinnati) and Kyle Hamilton (Notre Dame). There are 11 schools that have two candidates on the Bednarik watch list.
The winners of the 2021 Maxwell and Bednarik Awards will be announced as part of the ESPN Home Depot College Football Awards Show held on December 9, 2021. The formal presentations of the Maxwell Award will be made at the Maxwell Football Club Awards Gala hosted by Tropicana Hotel & Casino Atlantic City on March 11, 2022.
In his last season on the field in 2019, Jones played in all 12 games and recorded 40 tackles, 3.5 sacks and secured one fumble recovery.
