Special report on the Florida Gators football team:
SOUTHAMPTON, Pa. – Florida linebacker Brenton Cox Jr. was named to the Chuck Bednarik Award Watch List, the Maxwell Football Club announced Monday.
He has also collected All-SEC Preseason Second Team honors from Athlon, Phil Steele and the media at SEC Media Days. Cox Jr. owned team-best in TFLs (14.5), sacks (8.5) and quarterback hurries (12) last season. Starting all 13 games last year, he posted back-to-back games against Florida State and UCF with 4.0 TFLs totaling a loss of 48 yards. In the final five games of the 2021 season, Cox Jr. had 20 tackles, 11 TFLs, seven sacks and six QBHs.
The Maxwell Football Club has once again partnered with Pro Football Focus (PFF), XOS and Phil Steele Publications as selection committee partners. PFF provides detailed metrics and performance-based assessments to selection committee staff, and several senior PFF analysts are members of our selection committee. Phil Steele’s College Football Preview is generally recognized as the most complete preseason magazine. XOS provides the Maxwell Club selection committee with access to game footage from all FBS colleges.
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.
Semifinalists for the Chuck Bednarik Award will be announced Nov. 1 while the three finalists for the Bednarik Award will be unveiled on Nov. 22. 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 Florida Football Watch List
| Award | Player |
| Maxwell Award | Anthony Richardson |
| Doak Walker Award | Nay’Quan Wright |
| Rimington Trophy | Kingsley Eguakun |
| Butkus Award | Ventrell Miller |
| Outland Trophy | Gervon Dexter Sr. |
| Outland Trophy | O’Cyrus Torrence |
| Wuerffel Trophy | Nay’Quan Wright |
| Chuck Bednarik Award | Brenton Cox Jr. |
Florida Football Chuck Bednarik Award History
| Year | Name (Result) |
| 1998 | Jevon Kearse (Finalist) |
| 2008 | Brandon Spikes (Semifinalist) |
| 2009 | Brandon Spikes (Finalist) |
| 2012 | Matt Elam (Semifinalist) |
| 2014 | Vernon Hargreaves III (Semifinalist) |
| 2015 | Jon Bullard (Semifinalist) |
| 2015 | Vernon Hargreaves III (Semifinalist) |
| 2016 | Jarrad Davis (Semifinalist) |
| 2018 | Jachai Polite (Semifinalist) |