Victor Dimukeje, Chris Rumph II Named to Bednarik Watch List

Defensive ends are candidates for Defensive Player of Year

A pair of Duke defensive players were selected to the preseason watch list for the Bednarik Award. Defensive ends Victor Dimukeje and Chris Rumph II were named to the watch list for the honor.

Duke is one of 12 teams with more than one watch listed player. Pitt (who has three), Miami, Florida State, Virginia and Virginia Tech are the other ACC teams with multiple players on the Bednarik list. Duke’s scheduled non-conference opponent Notre Dame also has two players on the watch list.

It’s the second straight year Dimukeje, a senior, has been named to the preseason watch list. He has 122 tackles, 24.5 tackles for loss, 14 sacks, one interception, three forced fumbles and 23 quarterback pressures in his three years at Duke. He was second-team All-ACC last season.

Rumph, a junior, was named third-team All-ACC and also earned All-America honors—first team from Pro Football Focus and second-team from Sports Illustrated. He has 72 tackles, 21.5 tackles for loss, 9.5 sacks, a forced fumble, four pass breakups and 13 pressures in his career.

The award, named for college and pro football Hall of Famer Chuck Bednarik, is presented to the College Defensive Player of the Year. Ohio State’s Chase Young won the award last year. Since it started in 1995, no Blue Devil has ever won the Bednarik. In the ACC, only Pitt’s Aaron Donald (2013), UNC’s Julius Peppers (2001) and Maryland’s E.J. Henderson (2002) have won it.

Semifinalists for the Bednarik Award will be announced November 3, 2020, while the three finalists for the Bednarik Award will be unveiled November 23, 2020. The winner of the 2020 Bednarik Awards will be announced as part of the College Football Awards Show held on December 10, 2020.