UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Penn State senior safety Ji'Ayir Brown and redshirt junior cornerback Joey Porter, Jr. landed on the Chuck Bednarik Award watch list, announced by the Maxwell Football Club. Redshirt senior long snapper Chris Stoll was named to the Patrick Mannelly Award watch list. Both watch lists were announced on Monday.
The Bednarik Award is presented annually to the most outstanding defensive player in college football.
The Mannelly Award is presented to the best long snapper in college football.
Ji'Ayir Brown · Sr+ · S · 5-11 · 208 · Trenton, N.J. · Trenton Central/Lackawanna College
- Is also on the Jim Thorpe Award watch list.
- Has appeared in 22 career games at Penn State, making 13 starts.
- Tied for the nation's lead with six interceptions in 2021.
- His six interceptions were tied for the 10th-most in a season at PSU.
- Became the first Nittany Lion to record six interceptions and two fumble recoveries in a season since Alan Zemaitis in 2005.
- Tied a Penn State bowl record with two interceptions in the Outback Bowl vs. Arkansas.
- Earned third team All-Big Ten honors by the coaches and honorable mention by the media.
- Recorded an interception as time expired to secure the win at Wisconsin to open the 2021 season.
Joey Porter, Jr. · R-Jr. · CB · 6-2 · 198 · Bakersfield, Calif. · North Allegheny (Pa.)
- Is also on the Jim Thorpe Award and Lott IMPACT Trophy watch lists.
- Has appeared in 25 career games, making 21 starts, as a Nittany Lion.
- Named third team All-Big Ten by the coaches and honorable mention by the media in 2021.
- Finished the 2021 season with 51 tackles, a forced fumble, an interception and four pass breakups.
- Recorded first career interception against Indiana (10/2/21).
- Made a career-high nine tackles against Illinois (10/23/21).
- Selected third team All-Big Ten by the media and honorable mention by the coaches in 2020.
- Notched 33 tackles, two tackles for loss, one sack and four pass breakups in 2020.
Chris Stoll · R-Sr. · LS · 6-2 · 262 · Westerville, Ohio · St. Francis DeSales
- Is also on the Allstate AFCA Good Works Team watch list.
- Named to the Patrick Mannelly Award Watch List for the second-straight season
- Penn State's primary long snapper for 35 career games.
- Earned a scholarship in the summer of 2020.
- Is a three-time Dean's List selection.
- Is in his third year as President of Penn State's Uplifting Athletes, a chapter that has raised nearly 1.4 million dollars for kidney cancer treatment and research since the first Penn State Lift for Life was held in 2003.
- He is just the second, three-time president in program history, joining Brett Brackett (2008-10).
- Was a Burlsworth Trophy nominee during the 2021 season.
- Helped Penn State's punting unit rank second nationally in net punting (44.5) and ninth in punt return defense (2.79) in 2021.
- Snapped for Big Ten Punter of the Year and Ray Guy Award finalist Jordan Stout.
- Helped Stout to four Big Ten Special Teams Player of the Week honors, tying a Big Ten record set by Purdue's Travis Dorsch in 2001.
The Chuck Bednarik Award will announce its semifinalists on November 1 and its three finalists will be unveiled on November 22. The winner of the 28th Bednarik Award will be announced on The Home Depot College Football Awards. The formal presentation of the award will be made at the 86th Maxwell Football Club Awards Gala in Atlantic, City, N.J. on March 10, 2023.
The Bednarik Award has been presented to the College Defensive Player of the Year and is named in honor of Chuck Bednarik, who was an All-American player at the University of Pennsylvania and went on to be an All-Pro linebacker and center for the Philadelphia Eagles. He is a member of the College and Pro Football Hall of Fame as a full-time player on offense and defense.
The Patrick Mannelly Award will announce 10 semifinalists on November 14. The award will select three finalists, announced on November 28, and the winner will be selected at the live award ceremony on December 10, 2022 in Lake Bluff, Ill.
The Mannelly Award, created in 2019, benefits Bernie's Book Bank, a non-profit organization located in Lake Bluff. The award is named after Patrick Mannelly, a long snapper at Duke, who played 16 years in the NFL (1998-2013) with the Chicago Bears.
Penn State Football Recognized on 2022 Preseason Watch Lists
Ji'Ayir Brown: Bednarik Award, Jim Thorpe Award
Sean Clifford: Davey O'Brien Award, Maxwell Award
Theo Johnson: Mackey Award
Keyvone Lee: Doak Walker Award
Joey Porter Jr.: Bednarik Award, Jim Thorpe Award, Lott IMPACT Trophy
Juice Scruggs: Rimington Trophy
Chris Stoll: Allstate AFCA Good Works Team, Mannelly Award
Brenton Strange: Mackey Award
Mitchell Tinsley: Biletnikoff Award
Parker Washington: Biletnikoff Award
For more information on joining the Nittany Lion Club and reserving new season tickets for the 2022 Penn State Football season presented by PSECU, as well as club seating in Beaver Stadium, fans can visit www.PSUnrivaled.com, call 1-800-NITTANY weekdays from 9 a.m.- 4 p.m.
More than 5,300 new season tickets have already been sold for the 2022 campaign.