2013 Preseason Award Projections: Chuck Bednarik Award

By Charlie Campbell
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Heading into the 2013 college football season, WalterFootball.com will debut our projections for the nation’s leaders during the fall. The All-American teams always have some surprises, and this coming fall’s stars could be the headline players next April for the 2014 NFL Draft. We also will project the winners of the postseason awards that are given out to the best of college football.

The Chuck Bednarik Award is given to the best defensive player in college football. Last year’s winner was Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te’o.

Bednarik Award Winner:

C.J. Mosley, Alabama

The Bednarik Award has a strong inclination to go with defenders in the middle of the defense as evidenced by 13 of the 18 winners having been linebackers. Only two defensive linemen have won the award, Julius Peppers (2001) and Ndamukong Suh (2009), while the other three winners were cornerbacks Charles Woodson, Patrick Peterson and Tyrann Mathieu. A safety has never won the Bednarik Award.

Thus, I’m not going out on a limb by projecting Mosley. The Bednarik Award has a strong inclination toward middle linebackers who rack up large tackle totals, although Boston College’s Luke Kuechly never won the award despite two consecutive seasons with massive tackle totals. Last year I wrote, “The safest pick would probably be Notre Dame’s Manti Te’o, but I believe that [Jarvis] Jones is the better football player. Jones is a sack master and a devastating pass-rusher, but he still produced a good tackle total in run defense.” I had Te’o as the runner-up last year, and I won’t make that mistake again. I’ll go with Mosley over Jadeveon Clowney, Anthony Barr and Stephon Tuitt.

Mosley was the leader of the Crimson Tide’s 2012 defense. The junior led the team with 107 tackles. He also notched two interceptions, four sacks, eight tackles for a loss, one forced fumble and two passes broken up. While many Alabama defenders struggled with Texas A&M and Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Manziel, Mosley played extremely well with 14 tackles and a sack. Mosley also had big games against Michigan, Tennessee, Missouri and Ole Miss. He was a consensus First-Team All-American and All-SEC selection.

Mosley split a starting role with Nico Johnson in 2011; Mosley was used more in pass defense with Johnson serving as a run-defender next to Dont’a Hightower. Mosley missed two games with a dislocated elbow and was a valuable contributor. The sophomore still totaled 37 tackles with 4.5 tackles for a loss, two sacks and an interception. He was injured again in the National Championship after he intercepted a pass from Jordan Jefferson. Mosley dislocated his hip on the tackle by Jefferson, but was fine for the start of the 2012 season.

As long as Mosley stays healthy, there is no reason to think that the senior’s production will fall off in 2013. Alabama has good talent around Mosley, so he shouldn’t be put in a position of trying to make every play for his defense. The Crimson Tide coaching staff also has done a great job of putting Mosley in position to succeed. He has excellent instincts and is a well-rounded player. Mosley (6-2, 234) is tough against the run and superb in pass defense. He could have a huge senior season like Te’o did last year.

With Mosley’s production, talent and high profile status, he seems like a good bet to win the Bednarik Award considering the history of past winners.



Bednarik Award Runner-Up:

Jadeveon Clowney, South Carolina

You can make the argument that Clowney, Jarvis Jones and Anthony Barr deserved the Bednarik Award over Te’o last year. All three of those players had good supporting casts, but none of them received as much as help as Te’o got from defensive end Stephon Tuitt, defensive tackle Louis Nix and outside linebacker Prince Shembo.

Clowney is a complete player who is a good run-defender while being a monster pass-rusher. The 6-foot-6, 272-pounder has a rare skill set with elite speed, strength and athleticism. Clowney has incredible explosion off the snap. He is lightning fast coming off the edge and has natural power to shed blocks. The junior has already developed an arsenal of pass-rushing moves.

Clowney was one of the best players in college football last year, amassing 54 tackles, 23.5 tackles for a loss, three forced fumbles, two passes batted and 13 sacks. He finished sixth for the Heisman Trophy. Clowney was an overwhelming force at the point of attack throughout the season. He destroyed offensive game plans and mandated double-teams all year long.

Clowney was the SEC Freshman of the Year and a Second-Team All-SEC selection in 2011. He totaled 36 tackles with eight sacks, 12 tackles for a loss and five forced fumbles.

The Gamecocks have a tough 2013 schedule and Clowney will see some quality left tackles in North Carolina’s James Hurst, Tennessee’s Antonio Richardson and Florida’s D.J. Humphries. Clowney could see more single blocks when going against those linemen. However all the double- and triple-teams that will be sent his direction could cause his numbers to decline and lead to another player getting the Bednarik Award due to having a bigger stat line.

As stated above, the Bednarik Award has rarely been given to a defensive lineman. However, Clowney has the talent to beat the trend if he has another season with big production.



Bednarik Award Dark Horse:

Anthony Barr, UCLA

Barr would still fit the emphasis of a linebacker, but he isn’t really the type of linebacker the award committee is inclined to pick. As a pass-rushing outside linebacker, Barr’s production is similar to that of a defensive end and the Bednarik Award seems to prefer middle linebacker types. Thus, Barr is a bit of a dark horse to win this postseason accolade.

Barr had, perhaps, the biggest career turnaround of any player in college football last year. The junior went from being an obscure fullback who had a total of 12 receptions across two seasons into a potential high first-round pick as a pass-rushing outside linebacker. He owes Jim Mora, Jr. and his coaching staff a lot for making the position change.

Barr had a breakout 2012 season and was one of the nation’s leader in sacks. He collected 13.5 sacks, 83 tackles, 21.5 tackles for a loss, five passes batted and four forced fumbles. His sack total was the second largest in the nation behind only Georgia’s Jarvis Jones.

The 6-foot-4, 235-pound Barr was consistently good all year, but was utterly dominant to close out the regular season. He then made the smart decision to return to UCLA for 2013. Barr can still use some developmental time and that further growth could make him even better this year.

The history of the Bednarik Award says that Barr is more of a long shot, but he could have the talent to overcome the bias.

Honorable Mentions: BYU outside linebacker Kyle Van Noy, Arizona State defensive tackle Will Sutton, Notre Dame defensive tackle Louis Nix, Notre Dame defensive end Stephon Tuitt, Florida State defensive tackle Timmy Jernigan, TCU defensive end Devonte Fields, Texas defensive end Jackson Jeffcoat, Florida defensive end Dominique Easley, South Florida defensive end Aaron Lynch, LSU defensive tackle Anthony Johnson, USC defensive end Leonard Williams, Oregon State defensive end Scott Crichton, Boise State defensive end Demarcus Lawrence, Stanford defensive end Trent Murphy, Ohio State cornerback Bradley Roby, Florida cornerback Loucheiz Purifoy, Oklahoma cornerback Aaron Colvin, Oregon cornerback Ifo Ekpre-Olomu, TCU cornerback Jason Verrett, Georgia cornerback Damien Swann, Vanderbilt safety Kenny Ladler, Tennessee linebacker A.J. Johnson, Florida State linebacker Christian Jones, Ohio State linebacker Ryan Shazier, Alabama linebacker Adrian Hubbard, Western Kentucky linebacker Andrew Jackson, UCLA linebacker Eric Kendricks, Stanford linebacker Shayne Skov, Michigan State linebacker Max Bullough, Florida linebacker Ron Powell, Iowa linebacker James Morris, Iowa linebacker Anthony Hitchens, Alabama linebacker Trey DePriest, Washington linebacker Shaq Thompson, Florida State safety Lamarcus Joyner, Florida cornerback Marcus Roberson, Stanford safety Ed Reynolds, Alabama safety Vinnie Sunseri, Oklahoma State cornerback Justin Gilbert, LSU safety Craig Loston, North Carolina defensive back Tre Boston, Kansas State safety Ty Zimmerman and Alabama safety HaHa Clinton-Dix.











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