Hamilton, Owusu-Koramoah Named to Bednarik Award Watch List

NOTRE DAME, Indiana — University of Notre Dame sophomore safety Kyle Hamilton and senior linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah were selected to the 2020 Chuck Bednarik Award Watch List. The Chuck Bednarik Award is presented annually to the outstanding defensive player in college football.

Tying for a team-high 80 tackles in 2019, Owusu-Koramoah started all 13 games this past season, contributing a team-high 13.5 tackles for loss with 5.5 sacks, four pass break-ups, three QB hurries, two forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries. Three sacks came during the 2019 Camping World Bowl victory over Iowa State, earning him a spot on the ESPN All-Bowl Team, and he reached the nine-tackle mark three times during the season: at Louisville, at Stanford and vs. Iowa State. 

In his true-freshman season, Hamilton was named to The Athletic Freshman All-American team and received the team award for Co-Defensive Newcomer of the Year. He played in all 13 games in 2019, snagging four interceptions, a feat achieved by only 50 players nationally and only four freshmen in the FBS. On his first defensive snap in Notre Dame Stadium, Hamilton intercepted a New Mexico pass and returned it 34 yards for a touchdown. 

The Bednarik Award has been presented to the College Defensive Player of the Year since 1995 and is named in honor of Chuck Bednarik, a former standout at the University of Pennsylvania and with the Philadelphia Eagles. Bednarik is a member of both the College Football Hall of Fame’s Class of ’69 and the NFL Hall of Fame’s Class of ’67. The current watch list includes 90 defensive players. 

Semifinalists for the Bednarik Award will be announced November 3, 2020, while the three finalists for the Bednarik Award will be unveiled November 23, 2020. The winner of the 2020 Bednarik Award will be announced as part of the ESPN Home Depot College Football Awards Show held on December 10, 2020. The formal presentations of these awards will be made at the Maxwell Football Club Awards Gala, hosted by Tropicana Hotel & Casino Atlantic City on March 12, 2021.

About the National College Football Awards Association

The Bednarik Award is a member of the National College Football Awards Association (NCFAA), which encompasses the most prestigious awards in college football. Founded in 1997, the NCFAA and its 25 awards now boast over 800 recipients, dating to 1935. Visit ncfaa.org to learn more about the association.

The members of the National College Football Awards Association (NCFAA) are unveiling their preseason watch lists over a 12-day period this month. Seventeen of the association’s 25 awards select a preseason watch list, and the NCFAA has spearheaded a coordinated effort to promote each award’s preseason candidates. Following is the complete 2020 preseason watch list calendar:

Monday July 13: Chuck Bednarik Award (Kyle Hamilton, Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah) 

Tuesday July 14: Davey O’Brien Award

Wednesday July 15: Doak Walker Award

Thursday July 16: Biletnikoff Award

Friday July 17: Mackey Award

Monday July 20: Jim Thorpe Award

Tuesday July 21: Outland Trophy & Nagurski Award

Wednesday July 22: Groza Award & Ray Guy Award

Thursday July 23: Hornung Award & Wuerffel Trophy

Friday July 24: Maxwell Award