Even if the college football season may never get off the ground, Penn State junior linebacker Micah Parsons was named to yet another preseason watch list and is among the 90 candidates for the Bednarik Award.
The Bednarik Award has been presented to the College Defensive Player of the Year since 1995. Chuck Bednarik, former standout at Penn and with the Philadelphia Eagles, is a member of both the College Football Hall of Fame’s Class of ’69 and the NFL Hall of Fame’s Class of ’67.
The Monday news is Parsons’ second preseason watch honor, having been previously named to the Lott IMPACT Trophy watch list.
Parsons, Penn State’s do-it-all linebacker, enters his junior and perhaps final season in State College with no shortage of accolades to his name. Parsons was named the 2019 Big Ten Butkus-Fitzgerald Linebacker of the Year, becoming the first sophomore in Big Ten history to win the award.
He was also named 2019 first team All-Big Ten selection by the coaches and media and named a Consensus All-American by the NCAA. He was a first team All-America selection by numerous outlets, including the Associated Press, USA Today, ESPN, the AFCA, Sports Illustrated, Bleacher Report and Pro Football Focus.
In Penn State’s Cotton Bowl win over Memphis, Parsons registered a career-high three tackles for loss and two sacks, while also forcing two fumbles and adding a personal best two pass breakups. He also tied a career high mark in tackles with 14 against the Tigers and was named to the AP All-Bowl Team, ESPN All-Bowl Team and Sports Illustrated All-Bowl Team.
