Banks and Sapp named to Chuck Bednarik Award Watch List

Seniors defensive tackle Caleb Banks and EDGE rusher Tyreek Sapp earned spots on the Chuck Bednarik Award Watch List on Monday. Banks has now appeared on two award watch lists—he earned a spot on the Nagurski Trophy watch list in July, while this marks the first for Sapp.

The Maxwell Football Club introduced the Chuck Bednarik Award in 1995, naming it after the late Chuck Bednarik.

https://twitter.com/GatorsFB/status/1954997679454371966

Considered one of the best linebackers ever to play the game of football, Bednarik played his college ball at the University of Pennsylvania. From there, he went on to play for the hometown Philadelphia Eagles from 1949 to 1062. 

Like the Nagurski Trophy, the Maxwell Football Club awards the Bednarik each year to the best defensive player in college football. The only difference is that the Charlotte Touchdown Club presents the Nagurski Trophy.

Both Banks and Sapp had the option to enter the NFL Draft early, but decided to return for their final season. Now, they lead this Gators defense into battle as the elder statesmen of the group, looking to bring a championship to Gainesville. 

Each player creates strong arguments as to why they are up for the award heading into this season. Banks totaled a career-high 21 tackles, 10 of which were solo tackles, with seven for loss. He also recorded 4.5 sacks, including 2.5 against Ole Miss, which earned him SEC Defensive Player of the Week.

Sapp had a breakout 2024, playing all 13 games and setting career-highs in total (46) and solo (20) tackles. He also led the team with seven sacks and 13 tackles-for-loss. He also recorded the highest PFF grade among all qualified Florida players with 90.4. That is the highest grade a Florida defender has earned since Jonathon Greenard’s 90.5 in 2019.