Trey Lathan Named to Bednarik Award Preseason Watch List

LAWRENCE, Kan. – Kansas senior linebacker Trey Lathan was named to the Chuck Bednarik Award Preseason Watch List, the Maxwell Football Club announced on Friday. The Bednarik Award is presented annually to the most outstanding defensive player in college football.

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 honor marks Lathan's second Watch List of the 2026 season after being named to the Butkus Award Preseason Watch List on Aug. 13, awarded to the nation's top linebacker.

Lathan enters his redshirt senior season as Kansas' leading tackler from a season ago with 86 tackles, 7.0 tackles-for-loss, 1.5 sacks and an interception and earned Honorable Mention All-Big 12 honors at the conclusion of the season. Lathan has started 30 career games and played in 34 over his career at linebacker, totaling 198 career tackles.

Semifinalists for the Chuck Bednarik Award will be announced November 10, 2026, while the three finalists for the will be unveiled November 24, 2026. The winner of the 32nd Chuck Bednarik Award will be announced as part of the ESPN Home Depot College Football Awards Show held on December 10, 2026. The formal presentations of the Maxwell Award will be made at the Maxwell Football Club Awards on Saturday March 13, 2027, at the Coca Cola Roxy Theater in Atlanta, Georgia.

Last year's Chuck Bednarik Award winner was Jacob Rodriguez. (Texas Tech) who went on to be the 2rd round selection of the Miami Dolphins in the 2025 NFL Draft.

Candidates for the Chuck Bednarik Award are listed below:

Blake	Fletcher	LB	Air Force	Senior	MWC
Bray	Hubbard	S	Alabama	Senior	SEC
Zabien	Brown	CB	Alabama	Junior	SEC
Yhonzae	Pierre	LB	Alabama	Senior	SEC
Colton	Phares	LB	Appalachian State	Junior	SBC
Taye	Brown	LB	Arizona	Senior	Big 12
Quincy	Rhodes	DE	Arkansas	Senior	SEC
Xavier	Atkins	LB	Auburn	Junior	SEC
Travion	Barnes	LB	Baylor	Senior	Big 12
Isaiah	Glasker	LB	BYU	Senior	Big 12
Cade	Uluave	LB	BYU	Senior	Big 12
Faletau	Satuala	S	BYU	Junior	Big 12
Jonathan	Thompson	LB	Cincinnati	Senior	Big 12
Sammy	Brown	LB	Clemson	Junior	ACC
Ashton	Hampton	CB	Clemson	Junior	ACC
Gideon	Lampron	LB	Colorado	Senior	Big 12
Gavin	Moul	LB	Delaware	Senior	CUSA
Myles	Graham	LB	Florida	Junior	SEC
Ja'Bril	Rawls	CB	Florida State	Junior	ACC
Raylen	Wilson	LB	Georgia	Senior	SEC
Ellis	Robinson	CB	Georgia	Sophomore	SEC
KJ	Bolden	S	Georgia	Junior	SEC
MJ	Stroud	DE	Georgia Southern	Senior	SBC
Will	James	CB	Houston	Junior	Big 12
Matthew	Bailey	DB	Illinois	Senior	Big Ten
Tyrique	Tucker	NT	Indiana	Senior	Big Ten
Rolijah	Hardy	LB	Indiana	Junior	Big Ten
Isaiah	Jones	LB	Indiana	Senior	Big Ten
Zach	Lutmer	S	Iowa	Junior	Big Ten
Isaac	Terrell	DE	Iowa State	Senior	Big 12
Caleb	Nix	S	Jacksonville State	Senior	CUSA
Trey	Lathan	LB	Kansas	Senior	Big 12
Wendell	Gregory	DE	Kansas State	Sophomore	Big 12
Kolbe	Fields	LB	Louisiana Tech	Senior	SBC
Clev	Lubin	DE	Louisville	Senior	ACC
Princewill	Umanmielen	DE	LSU	Senior	SEC
Whit	Weeks	LB	LSU	Senior	SEC
DJ	Pickett	CB	LSU	Sophomore	SEC
Daniel	Wingate	LB	Maryland	Senior	Big Ten
Ian	Foster	DB	Memphis	Junior	AAC
Ahmad	Moten	DT	Miami	Senior	ACC
Damon	Wilson	DE	Miami	Senior	ACC
John Henry	Daley	DE	Michigan	Junior	Big Ten
Jyaire	Hill	CB	Michigan	Junior	Big Ten
Jordan	Hall	LB	Michigan State	Senior	Big Ten
Anthony	Smith	DE	Minnesota	Senior	Big Ten
Kelley	Jones	CB	Mississippi State	Junior	SEC
Dylan	LaBarbera	DE	Nevada	Senior	MWC
Jaxton	Eck	LB	New Mexico	Senior	MWC
Melkart	Abou Jaoude	DE	North Carolina	Senior	ACC
Keenan	Wilson	DT	North Dakota State	Junior	MWC
Robert	Fitzgerald	S	Northwestern	Senior	Big Ten
Boubacar	Traore	DE	Notre Dame	Junior	Ind
Leonard	Moore	CB	Notre Dame	Junior	Ind
Adon	Shuler	S	Notre Dame	Junior	Ind
DJ	Walker	S	Ohio	Junior	MAC
Kenyatta	Jackson	DE	Ohio State	Senior	Big Ten
Earl	Little	S	Ohio State	Senior	Big Ten
David	Stone	DT	Oklahoma	Junior	SEC
Kip	Lewis	LB	Oklahoma	Senior	SEC
Peyton	Bowen	S	Oklahoma	Junior	SEC
Will	Echoles	NT	Ole Miss	Junior	SEC
Keaton	Thomas	LB	Ole Miss	Senior	SEC
Matayo	Uiagalelei	DE	Oregon	Senior	Big Ten
A'Mauri	Washington	DT	Oregon	Senior	Big Ten
Brandon	Finney	CB	Oregon	Sophomore	Big Ten
Jeremiah	Cooper	S	Penn State	Senior	Big Ten
Braylan	Lovelace	LB	Pittsburgh	Senior	ACC
Dylan	Stewart	DE	South Carolina	Junior	SEC
Matt	Rose	LB	Stanford	Senior	ACC
Jamel	Johnson	S	TCU	Senior	Big 12
Amare	Campbell	LB	Tennessee	Junior	SEC
Ty	Redmond	CB	Tennessee	Sophomore	SEC
Colin	Simmons	DE	Texas	Junior	SEC
Rasheem	Biles	LB	Texas	Senior	SEC
Dalton	Brooks	S	Texas A&M	Senior	SEC
A.J.	Holmes	DT	Texas Tech	Senior	Big 12
Ben	Roberts	LB	Texas Tech	Senior	Big 12
Brice	Pollock	CB	Texas Tech	Senior	Big 12
Donnie	Smith	DE	Troy	Senior	SBC
Jack	Tchienchou	S	Tulane	Junior	AAC
Elijah	Green	CB	Tulsa	Junior	AAC
Lewis	Carter	LB	UCF	Senior	Big 12
Noah	Flemmings	LB	ULM	Senior	SBC
Jontez	Williams	CB	USC	Senior	Big Ten
Johnathan	Hall	LB	Utah	Senior	Big 12
Brevin	Hamblin	S	Utah State	Senior	Pac-12
Kam	Robinson	LB	Virginia	Senior	ACC
Kemari	Copeland	DT	Virginia Tech	Senior	ACC
Langston	Hardy	DE	Wake Forest	Senior	ACC
Mason	Posa	LB	Wisconsin	Sophomore	Big Ten

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Trey Lathan Named to Bednarik Award Preseason Watch List

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