Aug. 13, 2009

University of South Carolina senior linebacker Eric Norwood is one of 55 players selected to the 2009 Watch List for the 15th Chuck Bednarik Award, it was announced today. The Bednarik Award goes to the nation’s Outstanding Defensive Player.

Norwood, a 6-1, 253-pounder from Acworth, Ga., was a consensus first-team All-Southeastern Conference selection in 2008 after finishing second on the squad with 75 tackles, including a team-leading 14.5 tackles for loss and 9.0 sacks. He also led the team with nine quarterback hurries, while recovering two fumbles and forcing another. A 2007 first-team All-SEC selection by the SEC coaches and a 2006 Freshman All-American, Norwood is Carolina’s all-time leader with 43.0 career tackles for loss and is third on the school’s all-time list in sacks with 22.0. He is the SEC active leader in both categories. He has played in all 38 games over the past three seasons, making 25 consecutive starts for the Gamecocks.

The Chuck Bednarik Award has been presented since 1995 and is named in honor of Chuck Bednarik, a former University of Pennsylvania and Philadelphia Eagle great. Mr. Bednarik is a member of both the College Football Hall of Fame ’69 and the NFL Hall of Fame ’67.

Semifinalists for the Chuck Bednarik Award will be announced on November 4th and three finalists for the award will be announced November 23rd. The winner of the 2009 Chuck Bednarik Award will be announced as part of the Home Depot ESPNU College Football Awards Show which will be held on December 10, 2009. The formal presentation of this award will be made at the Maxwell Football Club Awards Gala hosted by Harrah’s Entertainment Atlantic City on March 5, 2010.

The watch list candidates have been chosen by the Maxwell Football Club’s Selection Committee and the Maxwell Club reserves the right to make additions and subtractions to these lists as the 2009 season unfolds.

The Maxwell and Chuck Bednarik Awards are members of the National College Football Awards Association (NCFAA). The NCFAA was founded in 1997 as a coalition of the major collegiate football awards to protect, preserve and enhance the integrity, influence and prestige of the game’s predominant awards. The NCFAA encourages professionalism and the highest standards for the administration of its member awards and the selection of their candidates and recipients. For more information, visit the association’s official website, ncfaa.org.