LARAMIE, Wyo. — Each year, the Chuck Bednarik Award is presented to the top overall defender in college football. Recently, the University of Wyoming’s Jordan Bertagnole was named to the short list of preseason contenders for the honor this season.
Bertagnole, a defensive tackle for the Pokes, was also named to the preseason All-Mountain West team and was named to the Shrine Bowl Preseason Watchlist.
He started all 13 games for UW in the 2023–24 season, en route to being named second team All-Mountain West Conference and first team all-conference by Phil Steele. Bertagnole ranked fifth on the squad with 60 tackles last year, and was tops on the team with 5.5 tackles for loss and a pair of sacks. He also added a forced fumble to his name.
He recorded multiple tackles in every game last year except for one. Bertagnole racked up a season-high nine tackles at UNLV, while adding eight and seven against Appalachian State and Portland State, respectively.
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 at the University of Pennsylvania.
