Cam Smith Named to Bednarik Award Watch List
The Maxwell Football Club today announced its watch list for the 28th Chuck Bednarik Award, presented annually to the outstanding defensive player in college football. University of South Carolina redshirt junior defensive back Cam Smith is one of 90 players on the award’s preseason list.
Smith, a 6-0, 188-pounder redshirt junior from Blythewood, S.C., earned second-team All-SEC honors from the Associated Press a year ago after leading the team with 14 passes defended, including three interceptions and 11 pass breakups. He allowed multiple catches in just two of 11 games played and only 15 catches on 32 targets throughout the season. He has been listed on multiple pre-season All-SEC and All-America teams this summer, including the Jim Thorpe Award and Bronko Nagurski Trophy watch lists.
The Bednarik Award has been presented to the College Defensive Player of the Year since 1994 and is named in honor of Chuck “Concrete Charlie” Bednarik who was an All-American player at the University of Pennsylvania and later a multiple year All Pro linebacker and center for the Philadelphia Eagles. He is a member of both the College and Pro Football Halls of Fame and was the last NFL player to be a full time player on both offense and defense.
The Maxwell Football Club has once again partnered with Pro Football Focus (PFF), XOS and Phil Steele Publications as selection committee partners. PFF provides detailed metrics and performance-based assessments to selection committee staff, and several senior PFF analysts are members of our selection committee. Phil Steele’s College Football Preview is generally recognized as the most complete preseason magazine. XOS provides the Maxwell Club selection committee with access to game footage from all FBS colleges.
Semifinalists for the Chuck Bednarik Award will be announced November 1, 2022, while the three finalists for the Bednarik Award will be unveiled November 22, 2022. The winners of the 28th Bednarik Award will be announced as part of the ESPN Home Depot College Football Awards Show held on December 8, 2022. The formal presentations of the award will be made at the 86th Maxwell Football Club Awards Gala live from Atlantic City, NJ on March 10, 2023.
ABOUT THE MAXWELL FOOTBALL CLUB – The Maxwell Football Club was founded in 1935 and is the oldest football organization of its kind in America. The Club recognizes excellence in performance at the high school, collegiate and professional levels of the game. The Maxwell Club is also deeply involved and fully vested in the community through programs to promote academic excellence, community volunteerism, and leadership. High school student-athletes around the country have an opportunity to participate in MFC Showcase events, free of charge, through the generosity of our corporate partners, Ivy Rehab, SAFR, the ETC Foundation and the Run Around Inc. To learn more about our story visit www.maxwellfootballclub.org.
