Gators' Princely Umanmielen on CFB Defensive Player of the Year Watch List

Florida edge rusher Princely Umanmielen was named on the watch list for the Chuck Bednarik Award, given to college football's Defensive Player of the Year, on Monday.

Photo: Princely Umanmielen; Credit: Zach Goodall 

GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- On Monday, Gators edge rusher Princely Umanmielen was one of 12 Southeastern Conference players and 85 defenders in total placed on the preseason watch list for the 2023 Chuck Bednarik Award, the Maxwell Football Club announced.

Umanmielen, accordingly, enters his fourth season at Florida considered among the best defenders in college football, officially in the mix to win Defensive Player of the Year as determined by a selection committee partnered with Pro Football Focus and Phil Steele Publications. 

A 6-foot-5, 254-pound native of Manor, Texas, Umanmielen joined Florida in the recruiting class of 2020 and immediately flashed by producing two sacks in seven games. In a more frequent rotational role the next season, he tallied 17 total tackles, 1.5 sacks and a forced fumble. 

Umanmielen unlocked starting status at strong-side defensive end in 2022, leading to his emergence as a talent worth conference and potentially national recognition. He recorded 39 tackles with 9.5 for loss, 4.5 sacks and two forced fumbles in 13 appearances, including 17 tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks across his final five starts. 

Umanmielen received Preseason All-SEC Third-Team recognition from Athlon, Phil Steele and the media this offseason, before being named to the Chuck Bednarik Award watch list.

Ole Miss senior Cedric Johnson is the only other defensive end from the SEC to join Umanmielen on the list.

Learn more about the Chuck Bednarik Award below, via release from the Maxwell Football Club.

The Chuck 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 player at the University of Pennsylvania and later a multiple year All Pro linebacker and center for the Philadelphia Eagles. He is a member of both the College and Pro Football Halls of Fame and was the last NFL player to be a full-time player on both offense and defense.

Semifinalists for the Chuck Bednarik Award will be announced Nov. 13, 2023, while the three finalists for the Bednarik Award will be unveiled Nov. 28, 2023. The winners of the 29th Chuck Bednarik Award will be announced as part of the ESPN Home Depot College Football Awards Show held on Dec. 7, 2023. The formal presentations of the Chuck Bednarik Award will be made at the Maxwell Football Club Awards in March 2024.

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