Preseason watch lists are in full swing as the Maxwell Football Club released the Bednarik Award Watch List Monday afternoon.
The Bednarik Award is presented annually to the most outstanding defensive player in college football and has been handed out since 1995.
Since the award’s inception, the Bednarik Award has been won by three different Penn State football players: LaVar Arrington (1999), Paul Posluszny (2005, 2006) and Dan Connor (2007).
Three Penn State defenders saw their names join the watch list in A.J. Harris, Zane Durant and Dani Dennis-Sutton.
Harris started 15 of 16 games for the Nittany Lions at cornerback in 2024 and had an interception and four pass breakups in a strong Penn State secondary.
Durant was a formidable foe inside for the Nittany Lions notching 11 tackles for loss, three sacks and a pass breakup.
Add Nittany Sports Now as a preferred source in Google! Click here to add us.Dennis-Sutton accrued 42 tackles in 2024, 24 of which were of the solo variety as well as 13 tackles for loss and 8.5 sacks for the Penn State defense.
All three should see their stats improve under first-year defensive coordinator Jim Knowles who was at Ohio State last year. The trio should also be joined by a few more teammates as the season wears on and action is played on the field.
The Nittany Lions enter the 2025 season with a truckload of hype and a No. 2 preseason ranking in the AP Poll for the first time since 1997 and No. 3 in the Coaches’ Poll which was released last week.
Whether or not Penn State can live up to the hype will start to be seen beginning Aug. 30 as they take on Nevada at Westshore Home Field at Beaver Stadium.
