Dec. 5, 2006
EVANSTON, Ill. -- Northwestern Head Football Coach Pat Fitzgerald will present the 2006 Chuck Bednarik Award, given to the nation's outstanding defensive player, this Thursday, Dec. 7 at ESPN's Home Depot Football Awards Show in Orlando (6 p.m. CT, ESPN).
Fitzgerald, a two-time recipient of the Bednarik Award in 1995 and '96, is the only player in the award's 11-year history to capture the honor more than once.
Penn State linebacker Paul Posluszny, last year's award recipient, is one of three finalists for this year's honor. Posluszny joins teammate and fellow linebacker Dan Connor as a finalist, along with Michigan's LaMarr Woodley, the 2006 Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year.
Earlier this week, Fitzgerald gave the keynote address at the Bronko Nagurski Trophy Award presentation in Charlotte, N.C. Another Big Ten player, Ohio State linebacker James Laurinaitis, won the 2006 honor. Like the Bednarik, Fitzgerald is the only college player to win the Nagurski honor twice.