Jaylon Ferguson Named to Bednarik Award Watch List

PHILADELPHIA, Pa. – For the second straight season, Louisiana Tech defensive end Jaylon Ferguson has been named to the 2018 Chuck Bednarik Award Watch List, which is presented by the Maxwell Football Club to the College Defensive Player of the Year.

Ferguson will enter his senior season ranked fifth among active career leaders in the FBS with 27.5 sacks in his career. The St. Francisville native is coming off a junior campaign that saw him total 39 tackles (25 solo, 14 assisted), a team-high 7.0 sacks for 38 yards and 9.5 tackles for a loss of 45 yards. Ferguson also enters 2018 ranked third in the NCAA among active career leaders with an average of 0.69 sacks per game.

As a junior, Ferguson earned first team all-conference accolades for both Conference USA and the Louisiana Sports Writers Association. His 27.5 career sacks currently rank second all-time in Louisiana Tech history behind Walter Johnson, who totaled 38 sacks from 1983-86.

The Bednarik Award has been presented to the College Defensive Player of the Year since 1995. Chuck Bednarik, former standout at Penn and with the Philadelphia Eagles, 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 Bednarik Award is a member of the National College Football Awards Association (NCFAA) which encompasses the most prestigious awards in college football. The 24 awards boast over 750 years of tradition-selection excellence. Visit www.NCFAA.org to learn more about the awards.

The preseason Watch list for the Maxwell Award, which has been given to America’s College Player of the Year since 1937, was also announced Monday.

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