On Tuesday, Penn State cornerback Joey Porter Jr. was named a semifinalist for the Chuck Bednarik award which is annually awarded to the best defensive player in college football by the Maxwell Club.
Penn State cornerback Joey Porter Jr. is a semifinalist for the Bednarik Award. https://t.co/hNBbk9ZvkH
— Daniel Gallen (@danieljtgallen) November 1, 2022
Porter already has been named a semifinalist for the Jim Thorpe Award, which is awarded to the best defensive back in college football and was named a First-Team Midseason All-American.
Porter has recorded 25 tackles, 11 pass breakups, and one fumble recovery on the season. He won the Bednarik Award player of the week for his performance in Penn State’s Week One game at Purdue. In that game, he recorded eight tackles, had six pass breakups, and recovered a fumble. Porter has not recorded an interception this team because teams have decided not to throw to Porter.
Porter is looking to be the first Penn State player to win the Bednarik award since 2007 when linebacker Dan Connor won the award after teammate Paul Posluszny won the award for two straight years in 2005 and 2006. LaVar Arrington was the first Penn State player to win the award in 1999. Penn State has the most winners of the Bednarik Award with four.
If Porter were to win the Bednarik Award, he would join Charles Woodson of Michigan (1997), Patrick Peterson of LSU (2010), Tyrann Mathieu of LSU (2011), and Minkah Fitzpatrick of Alabama (2017) as cornerbacks to win the Bednarik award since the inception of the award in 1995.
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