Inside The Panthers

Pitt Football Lands Two Defenders on Bednarik Watch List

Calijah Kancey and Habakkuk Boldonado are up for an award given to the best defensive player in college football.
Stephen Thompson|
Pitt Football Lands Two Defenders on Bednarik Watch List
Pitt Football Lands Two Defenders on Bednarik Watch List

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Pittsburgh Panthers

PITTSBURGH -- A pair of Pitt Panthers got some good news as 2022 training camp opened on the South Side Monday morning. The Maxwell football club named defensive linemen Habakkuk Baldonado and Calijah Kancey to its preseason watch list for the Chuck Bednarik Award, given annually to the most outstanding defender in college football. 

Both players earned All-ACC honors a season ago - Kancey a first-teamer and Baldonado as second-teamer - after accounting for a combined 25 tackles for loss and 16 sacks. 

Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn, Clemson, Georgia, Iowa, NC State, Notre Dame, Ohio State and Penn State were the only other schools with multiple players on the list. 

Kancey and Baldonado are the leaders of a dangerous Pitt pass rush that leads the nation in sacks over the past three seasons combined. This season should be no different, as the Panthers return plenty of talented veterans to its rotation in 2022. 

Make sure you bookmark Inside the Panthers for the latest news, exclusive interviews, recruiting coverage and so much more!

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Stephen Thompson
STEPHEN THOMPSON

Stephen Thompson graduated with a bachelor's degree in communications and political science from Pitt in April 2022 after spending four years as a sports writer and editor at The Pitt News, the University of Pittsburgh's independent, student-run newspaper.  He primarily worked the Pitt men's basketball beat, and filled in on coverage of football, volleyball, softball, gymnastics and lacrosse, in addition to other sports as needed. His work at The Pitt News has won awards from the Pennsylvania News Media Association and Associated College Press.  During the spring and summer of 2021, Stephen interned for Pittsburgh Sports Now, covering baseball in western Pennsylvania. Hailing from Washington D.C., family ties have cultivated a love of Boston's professional teams and Pitt athletics, and a fascination with sports in general.  You can reach Stephen by email at stephenethompson00@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter. Read his latest work:

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