SOUTHAMPTON, Penn. – The Maxwell Football Club today announced its watch list for the 28^th Chuck Bednarik Award presented annually to the 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. Buffalo's James Patterson, Eastern Michigan's Jose Ramirez, Northern Illinois' CJ Brown, and Toledo's Jamal Hines represent the Mid-American Conference on this season's list.

Patterson is a two-time first-team All-MAC selection. In 2021, he led the Bulls and ranked second in the MAC in tackles with a career-best 116. He added a team-high 13 tackles for loss, 4.5 sacks, an interception and a forced fumble. This is the third preseason watch list for the redshirt-senior linebacker. He was also named to the watch lists for the Butkus Award and the Bronko Nagurski Trophy.

Selected Preseason First Team All-MAC by both Athlon Sports and Phil Steele in 2022, Ramirez dominated on the defensive line last season. He ranked 10th in the MAC with 6.5 sacks, a career-best mark for the Lake Alfred, Fla. native. Ramirez was third on the team with 63 tackles (32 solo, 31 assisted) in 2021, and led the team with 12.0 tackles for loss. Ramirez also forced a team-leading three fumbles this season.

Brown, a Canton, Michigan (Walled Lake Western HS) product, led the Huskies in tackles in 2021 with 109 stops, 61 solo, en route to earning first team All Mid-American Conference honors. He finished the season ranked 10th in the MAC in tackles per game and had double-digit tackle totals in four games.

A three-time All-MAC honoree and a 2021 first-team selection, Hines tallied 88 tackles last season while ranking second in the MAC in sacks (10.0) and fourth in TFL (15.0). He was a two-time MAC West Defensive Player of the Week honoree and registered eight pass breakups, tied for second-most on the team and most among linemen. This is the third preseason award watch list for Hines, who was previously named to the Bronko Nagurski Award watch list and was selected to the East-West Shrine Bowl's 1000 List as well.

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 Dec. 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.