Roslyn, Pa. – Maxwell Football Club President, Ron Jaworski, announced the 2008 Semifinalists for the 14th Chuck Bednarik Award for the Outstanding Defensive Player of the Year. Seminole rover Myron Rolle is included among the fifteen candidates as selected by the Maxwell Football Club Advisory Committee.
Rolle is a junior from Galloway, NJ and has started 30 straight games since his true freshman season. The rover is second on the team with 43 tackles and leads FSU with five pass break-ups. Rolle has led the Seminoles in tackles twice this season and had one of the finest games by a safety in the Bobby Bowden era versus Miami. Versus the Hurricanes, Rolle broke up four passes, had three third down stops, a touchdown saving tackle, a QB hurry, a tackle for loss and a ½ sack. He is a key member of a Seminole defense that is fifth in the nation in total defense.
Rolle not only excels on the football field but his one of the top student-athletes in the nation. He completed his undergraduate coursework in just two and a half years and is now pursuing a master’s degree. He is a finalist for the Rhodes Scholarship and also Florida State’s nominee for the Marshall Scholarship.
The announcement of the winners of the Bednarik Award will be made during the Home Depot ESPNU College Football Awards Show that will be broadcast on ESPN on Thursday December 11, 2008. Three finalists for the award will be in attendance for the ESPN broadcast. The formal presentation of these awards will be made at the Maxwell Football Club’s Awards Dinner, to be held on Friday March 6, 2009 at the Harrah’s Entertainment Complex in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
Voting for all three of the collegiate awards presented by the Maxwell Football Club will begin on Wednesday November 5th and close on Sunday November 23rd. Eligible voters include Maxwell Football Club members, NCAA Head Football Coaches, Sports Information Directors and selected national media.
All Semifinalists are listed in alphabetical order with the player’s school, position and class designated.
Semifinalists for the 14th Chuck Bednarik Award
Player
School
Pos.
Class
Berry, Eric
University of Tennessee
S
Soph.
Cody, Terrence
University of Alabama
NT
JR
Follett, Zack
University of California
LB
SR
Hughes, Jerry
Texas Christian University
DE
JR
Jenkins, Malcolm
Ohio State
CB
SR
Laurinaitis, James
Ohio State
LB
SR
Maualuga, Rey
University of Southern California
LB
SR
Maybin, Aaron
Penn State University
DE
Soph.
McCoy, Gerald
University of Oklahoma
DT
Soph.
McKillop, Scott
University of Pittsburgh
LB
SR
Orakpo, Brian
University of Texas
DE
SR
Rolle, Myron
Florida State University
S
JR
Spikes, Brandon
University of Florida
LB
JR
Walker, Vance
Georgia Tech
DT
SR
Weatherspoon, Sean
University of Missouri
LB
JR