For the first time since Jedd Fisch's first season as the Washington Huskies head coach, no player on the team found themselves among the 112 players on the 2026 preseason Bednarik Award watch list.
Awarded by the Maxwell Football Club to the best defender in college football annually since 1994, the Bednarik Award is named after Chuck Bednarik, an All-American at the University of Pennsylvania and later a multi-year All-Pro linebacker and center for the Philadelphia Eagles. He is a member of both the College and Pro Football Hall of Fame, having been inducted to both in 1969 and 1967, respectively.
Last year, first-year UW cornerback Tacario Davis, a third-round pick by the Cincinnati Bengals in the 2026 NFL draft, was the lone representative
for the Huskies on the annual watch list.
The 6-foot-4 transfer from Arizona, who began his career under Fisch in Tucson in 2022, ended up starting and playing in just seven games in his only season at UW due to injury. Davis still managed to finish with a pair of interceptions, which put the former Millikan High School star tied for 13th in the Big Ten in 2025, and 19 tackles for first-year Huskies defensive coordinator Ryan Walters.
In previous seasons, several notable former Huskies have been named to the Bednarik Award watch list, including edge rushers Bralen Trice (2023) and Zion Tupuola-Fetui (2022), linebacker Edefuan Ulofoshio and cornerback Trent McDuffie (2021), and a trio of players—defensive linemen Greg Gaines and safety Taylor Rapp—have made the Bednarik Award watch list, though no Husky has ever won the award since its inception 32 years ago.
Of the returning Huskies, the one who has a claim to stake at the top of the list would be senior safety Alex McLaughlin.
A transfer addition from Northern Arizona prior to the 2025 season, the former two-time All-Big Sky selection made an immediate impact last fall for UW. McLaughlin led the team with 94 total tackles, which put the Chandler, Arizona native among the top seven at his position, and added 6 pass breakups, 3 tackles for loss and a pair of picks in 13 starts for Walters and Co.
McLaughlin also didn't appear among the 35 players named to the 2026 Jim Thorpe Award watch list, awarded annually to the best defensive back in college football since 1986, but that doesn't preclude the star DB from eventually earning a spot as a semifinalist when the award announces its next crop on November 10.
Other players, including second-year cornerback Dylan Robinson, Virginia transfer cornerback Emmanuel Karnley, along with veteran linebackers Jacob Manu, Xe'ree Alexander, and Buddah Al-Uqdah, plus senior edge Jacob Lane, are among the UW players who could make their own case as one of the best defenders in college football this upcoming fall.
This article originally appeared on Huskies Wire: Washington Defenders Snubbed From 2026 Bednarik Award Watch List
