TicketsCINCINNATI – University of Cincinnati senior S Darrick Forrest (Columbus, Ohio/Walnut Ridge) and sophomore CB Ahmad Gardner(Detroit, Michigan/Martin Luther King) were named to the watch list for the 26th-annual Chuck Bednarik Award, presented annually to the outstanding defensive player in college football, the Maxwell Football Club announced Monday.
The Bednarik Award has been presented to the College Defensive Player of the Year since 1995 and is named in honor of Chuck Bednarik a former standout at the University of Pennsylvania and with the Philadelphia Eagles. Bednarik 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.
Forrest, a 2019 First-Team All-American Athletic Conference selection, was one of the leaders of UC's defense which led the American in scoring defense for the second-straight season and also forced an AAC best 25 turnovers. He led UC and ranked No. 7 in the league in tackles, averaging 7.6 per game and totaling 106 tackles and three interceptions in 14 starts. He finished with a career-high 16 tackles against UCF, reset his career high in tackles three times this year while finishing with seven or more stops in 10 games. He had a career-long, 38-yard interception return against UConn and was the AAC Defensive Player of the Week on Nov. 25, 2019.
Gardner is coming off a freshman campaign which saw him tabbed for three All-America teams (FWAA Freshman, PFF Third Team, The Athletic Freshman) and First-Team All-AAC honors. He erupted onto the scene in a huge way in a 27-24 upset win over UCF with a game-changing 16-yard interception return for a TD which gave UC a lead it would not relinquish at Nippert Stadium. Gardner added a second pick-6 at ECU, becoming the fifth UC player all time to have a pair of interception returns for a TD in the same season and first since UC corners coach Mike Mickens in 2007. He played in all 13 games and moved into the starting lineup against UConn and started the final six contests of the season.
Gardner finished the campaign with 31 tackles and 11 passes defended. According to PFF College, Gardner was one of the most frequently targeted DBs in 2019, ranking No. 15 in snaps/target. He finished as PFF College's No. 6 overall cornerback and No. 7 with a 90.0 coverage grade, allowing no touchdowns and only a 39.4 passer rating against him.
Semifinalists for the Bednarik Award will be announced November 3, 2020, while the three finalists for the Bednarik Award will be unveiled November 23, 2020. The winner of the 2020 Bednarik Awards will be announced as part of the ESPN Home Depot College Football Awards Show held on December 10, 2020. The formal presentations of these awards will be made at the Maxwell Football Club Awards Gala hosted by Tropicana Hotel & Casino Atlantic City on March 12, 2021.
UC returns 16 of 22 starters on the offensive and defensive side of the ball, 55 letterwinners and 13 of the team's top 15 tacklers from the 2019 team which won 11 games, the AAC East Division title and the Birmingham Bowl. The Bearcats ended the season ranked No. 21 in all three major polls, won 11 games for only the fourth time in the program's 132 seasons and had back-to-back 11-win seasons for only the second time in school history.
The Bearcats are currently set to open 2020 on Thursday, Sept. 3 against Austin Peay inside Nippert Stadium.
SEASON TICKETS ON SALE NOW
Season tickets for the 2020 University of Cincinnati football season are on sale now for as little as $99. Click HERE for more information and to view a number of flexible season-ticket options. Fans ready to make a purchase can call 1-877-CATS-TIX or visit the 2020 football tickets hub by clicking HERE today!
REFUND POLICY: In the event the 2020 Bearcats football season is canceled or modified, season ticket holders will have the option to have their ticket purchase refunded to the original payment method.
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For all the latest information on Cincinnati football, please visit GoBEARCATS.com. For up-to-the-minute updates, follow Cincinnati football (@GoBearcatsFB) and Coach Fickell (@CoachFick) on Twitter. You can also find the Bearcats on Instagram and Facebook.
The Bednarik Award has been presented to the College Defensive Player of the Year since 1995 and is named in honor of Chuck Bednarik a former standout at the University of Pennsylvania and with the Philadelphia Eagles. Bednarik 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.
Forrest, a 2019 First-Team All-American Athletic Conference selection, was one of the leaders of UC's defense which led the American in scoring defense for the second-straight season and also forced an AAC best 25 turnovers. He led UC and ranked No. 7 in the league in tackles, averaging 7.6 per game and totaling 106 tackles and three interceptions in 14 starts. He finished with a career-high 16 tackles against UCF, reset his career high in tackles three times this year while finishing with seven or more stops in 10 games. He had a career-long, 38-yard interception return against UConn and was the AAC Defensive Player of the Week on Nov. 25, 2019.
Gardner is coming off a freshman campaign which saw him tabbed for three All-America teams (FWAA Freshman, PFF Third Team, The Athletic Freshman) and First-Team All-AAC honors. He erupted onto the scene in a huge way in a 27-24 upset win over UCF with a game-changing 16-yard interception return for a TD which gave UC a lead it would not relinquish at Nippert Stadium. Gardner added a second pick-6 at ECU, becoming the fifth UC player all time to have a pair of interception returns for a TD in the same season and first since UC corners coach Mike Mickens in 2007. He played in all 13 games and moved into the starting lineup against UConn and started the final six contests of the season.
Gardner finished the campaign with 31 tackles and 11 passes defended. According to PFF College, Gardner was one of the most frequently targeted DBs in 2019, ranking No. 15 in snaps/target. He finished as PFF College's No. 6 overall cornerback and No. 7 with a 90.0 coverage grade, allowing no touchdowns and only a 39.4 passer rating against him.
Semifinalists for the Bednarik Award will be announced November 3, 2020, while the three finalists for the Bednarik Award will be unveiled November 23, 2020. The winner of the 2020 Bednarik Awards will be announced as part of the ESPN Home Depot College Football Awards Show held on December 10, 2020. The formal presentations of these awards will be made at the Maxwell Football Club Awards Gala hosted by Tropicana Hotel & Casino Atlantic City on March 12, 2021.
UC returns 16 of 22 starters on the offensive and defensive side of the ball, 55 letterwinners and 13 of the team's top 15 tacklers from the 2019 team which won 11 games, the AAC East Division title and the Birmingham Bowl. The Bearcats ended the season ranked No. 21 in all three major polls, won 11 games for only the fourth time in the program's 132 seasons and had back-to-back 11-win seasons for only the second time in school history.
The Bearcats are currently set to open 2020 on Thursday, Sept. 3 against Austin Peay inside Nippert Stadium.
SEASON TICKETS ON SALE NOW
Season tickets for the 2020 University of Cincinnati football season are on sale now for as little as $99. Click HERE for more information and to view a number of flexible season-ticket options. Fans ready to make a purchase can call 1-877-CATS-TIX or visit the 2020 football tickets hub by clicking HERE today!
REFUND POLICY: In the event the 2020 Bearcats football season is canceled or modified, season ticket holders will have the option to have their ticket purchase refunded to the original payment method.
FOLLOW THE BEARCATS
For all the latest information on Cincinnati football, please visit GoBEARCATS.com. For up-to-the-minute updates, follow Cincinnati football (@GoBearcatsFB) and Coach Fickell (@CoachFick) on Twitter. You can also find the Bearcats on Instagram and Facebook.