Utah's John Henry Daley named semifinalist for college football defensive player of the year award

Utes redshirt sophomore has been one of the most productive defensive ends in college football this season

Utah Utes defensive end John Henry Daley (90) has been named a semifinalist for the Chuck Bednarik Award | Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

Opposing quarterbacks haven't been able to settle in easily against Utah's defense this season, and John Henry Daley has been a big reason why.

The redshirt sophomore's productivity off the edge has vaulted the Utes near the top of the Big 12 in several statistical categories, epitomizing the identity the program has come to embrace over the past two decades under head coach Kyle Whittingham's stewardship.

Ahead of another pivotal Big 12 tilt for Utah, Daley's effectiveness earned him national recognition from the Maxwell Football Club, which named the 6-foot-4 defensive end a semifinalist for the prestigious Chuck Bednarik Award on Tuesday.

Daley was among a group of 17 players tabbed as serious contenders for college football's defensive player of the year honor, along with two standouts from Texas Tech's defense in Jacob Rodriguez and David Bailey. Six conferences were represented in total, with the SEC (six) leading the way.

Daley was among a group of seven mid-season additions to the award's watch list on Oct. 2. He recorded at least 0.5 tackles for loss in the Utes' ensuing four games, including three wire-to-wire victories over Arizona State (42-10), Colorado (53-7) and Cincinnati (45-14). Utah yielded 280 yards of total offense per game in those wins.

Daley, who was also nominated for the Lott IMPACT Trophy in October, added to his sack total over the past month as well. Heading into Week 12, he was tied for No. 6 in the country with 9.5 sacks and tied for No. 8 with 14.0 tackles for loss on the season. His 77 sack yards through nine games was the seventh-most on Utah's single-season leaderboard.

Daley has spearheaded a stout pass defense that ranks near the top of the Big 12 in pass yards allowed (No. 1), efficiency (No. 2) and sacks (No. 2) heading into Week 12. The Utes allowed just 14.2 points on average in their first nine games, ranking No. 8 in the Football Bowl Subdivision in scoring defense.

Named after the Hall of Fame linebacker and center who played for the Philadelphia Eagles, the Bednarik Award has been presented annually to the most outstanding defensive player in college football since 1995.

Semifinalist voting will begin on Nov. 17 and will close on Nov. 24. Three finalists for the award will be announced on Nov. 27. The winner of the Chuck Bednarik Award will be announced as part of ESPN's college football awards show on Dec. 11.

Bednarik Award Semifinalists

Player	School	Position
Quincy Rhodes Jr.	Arkansas	Defensive end
Xavier Atkins	Auburn	Linebacker
Red Murdock	Buffalo	Linebacker
CJ Allen	Georgia	Linebacker
Aiden Fisher	Indiana	Linebacker
Mansoor Delane	LSU	Cornerback
Rueben Bain Jr.	Miami	Defensive end
Landon Robinson	Navy	Nose guard
Leonard Moore	Notre Dame	Cornerback
Caleb Downs	Ohio State	Safety
Arvell Reese	Ohio State	Linebacker
R Mason Thomas	Oklahoma	Defensive lineman
Anthony Hill Jr.	Texas	Linebacker
Cashius Howell	Texas A&M	Defensive end
Jacob Rodriguez	Texas Tech	Linebacker
David Bailey	Texas Tech	Edge rusher
John Henry Daley	Utah	Defensive end