SAN MARCOS, Texas – Texas State senior linebacker
Bryan London II earned a spot on the 2019 watch list for the 25th annual Chuck Bednarik Award, the Maxwell Football Club announced Monday afternoon.
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 1969 and the NFL Hall of Fame's Class of 1967.
London II, a preseason selection to the All-Sun Belt team by
Athlon Sports,
Street and Smith's, Phil Steele and
Lindy's preseason magazines, led the Sun Belt Conference in tackles with 109 stops and 53 solo tackles in 2018. He finished atop the Sun Belt and ranked 45th nationally in total tackles average with 9.1 per game.
The mainstay in the middle of the Bobcat defense for the last three seasons, London II notched double-digit tackles in four contests with a season-high of 15 stops coming at Troy. London II also broke up two passes against the Trojans. He compiled 11 takedowns against Georgia Southern and 10 tackles each against Louisiana and South Alabama.
The Converse, Texas, native has been a superstar in the classroom during his time in the Maroon and Gold as well. In August of 2018, London II received his bachelor's degree in management. He also earned a Texas State Academic Achievement Award for his efforts in the classroom in 2018.
The Bednarik Award is a member of the National College Football Awards Association (NCFAA) which encompasses the most prestigious awards in college football. Founded in 1997, the NCFAA and its 25 awards boast over 800 recipients. Visit www.NCFAA.org to learn more about the association.
The members of the NCFAA are unveiling their preseason watch lists over a 12-day period this month. Seventeen of the association's 23 awards select a preseason watch list and the NCFAA has spearheaded a coordinated effort to promote each award's preseason candidates.
Semifinalists for the Bednarik Award will be announced Oct. 29, while the three finalists will be unveiled Nov. 25. The winner of the 2019 Bednarik Award will be announced as part of the Home Depot College Football Awards Show held on Dec. 12. The formal presentations of the award will be made at the Maxwell Football Club Awards Gala hosted by Tropicana Hotel & Casino Atlantic City on March 13, 2020.
London II and Texas State will open the 2019 season on the road at 7:30 p.m. CT on Aug. 29 at Kyle Field against Texas A&M. The Aggies concluded the 2018 season ranked No. 16 in both the Associated Press and
USA Today Coaches Poll with a 9-4 overall record and a 2018 Taxslayer Gator Bowl victory. The contest will be broadcast live on the SEC Network.
Texas State plays its first home game against Wyoming at 6 p.m. on Sept. 7. In addition to Wyoming, the Bobcats host Georgia State (Sept. 21), Nicholls (Sept. 28), ULM (Oct. 10), South Alabama (Nov. 9), and Troy (Nov. 16) in 2019.
Season tickets can be purchased by contacting the Texas State Athletic Ticket Office at 512-245-2272 or online at
txst.com/tickets. The ticket office can also be reached via email by sending questions to
gametickets@txstate.edu. Prices for season tickets start as low as $80 for one general admission season ticket. Priority seating options are still available with part of the purchase price going toward the Bobcat Club as we continue to raise scholarship funds for our Texas State student athletes.
