MANHATTAN, Kan. (Kansas State Athletics) – Kansas State junior defensive end Felix Anudike-Uzomah is one of 20 players nationally to be named a semifinalist for the 2022 Chuck Bednarik Award, the Maxwell Football Club announced Tuesday.
Anudike-Uzomah is the first Wildcat to be named a semifinalist for the award that goes to the college defense player of the year since linebacker Arthur Brown in 2012, while he is just the third to move past the preseason watch list as Chris Canty was a finalist in 1996.
A native of Kansas City, Missouri, Anudike-Uzomah enters play this week ranked second in the nation with 7.5 sacks. He leads the Wildcats with 9.0 tackles for loss this year as 32.1% of his 28 tackles this season have been for lost yardage thanks to the fact that he has registered at least a half TFL in seven of K-State’s eight games and at least a half sack in six contests.
One of Anudike-Uzomah’s tops performances this year came against Texas Tech when he carded 3.0 sacks to tie for fourth in school history for a single game. It was the third time in his career he had at least 3.0 sacks in a game, becoming the second player in school history to accomplish the feat (Nyle Wiren, 1994-96). Anudike-Uzomah teamed with Khalid Duke to give K-State two players with 3.0 sacks in the same game for the first time in school history, while it was the first time nationally since Oregon State did so in 2019 (vs. California).
Anudike-Uzomah has two forced fumbles this year to give him eight for his career, which is tied for fourth in school history and one shy of the school record. He now has 19.5 career sacks to rank 10th in K-State history.
Semifinalist voting for the Bednarik Award will begin on Wednesday, November 2 and will close on November 20. Three finalists for the award will be announced on November 22, and a finalist round of voting will take place at that time. Eligible voters include Maxwell Football Club members, NCAA head football coaches, sports information directors and selected national media.
The winner of the 28th Chuck Bednarik Award will be announced as part of the ESPN Home Depot College Football Awards Show, which will be televised live on ESPN on December 8. The formal presentation of the Chuck Bednarik Award will take place at the 86th Maxwell Awards Gala, which will be held in March 2023.
No. 13 Kansas State hosts Texas on Saturday inside Bill Snyder Family Stadium. The game kicks off at 6 p.m. and will be televised by FS1. Standing-room only tickets remain for the game against the Longhorns, and those can be purchased at www.k-statesports.com/tickets.
