It’s that time of year: college football award watch list season. On Monday the watch list for the 2017 Bednarik Award was one of the first to be announced. Notre Dame senior linebacker Nyles Morgan’s name was among the list of 86 watch list candidates. The Bednarik Award is given annually to the best defensive football player in the country as judged by the Maxwell Football Club.
Nyles Morgan, a captain for the 2017 season, is coming off his first season as a starter for the Fighting Irish. As a junior Morgan racked up 94 tackles, 6 TFL, and 4 sacks while starting all 12 games during Notre Dame’s 2016 campaign.