PHILADELPHIA, Pa. – WKU Football senior DeAngelo Malone was named among the very
best defenders in the country on the 2020 Bednarik Award Watch List, the Maxwell
Football Club announced Monday morning. Now in its 26th season, the Chuck Bednarik
Award is presented annually to the outstanding defensive player in college
football.
Malone is only 1-of-19 defensive ends and 1-of-7 from Conference USA out of 90 total
players on the initial list. Voters include NCAA head coaches and members of the
Maxwell Football Club, as well as sportswriters and sportscasters from across the
country.
En route to becoming the first Hilltopper to be voted C-USA Defensive Player of the
Year since joining the league prior to the 2014 campaign, Malone helped anchor the
conference’s top scoring defense in 2019. He produced 99 total tackles – including
21 for loss – with 11.5 sacks, 16 quarterback hurries and a fumble recovery returned
for a touchdown.
The Atlanta, Ga., native set the WKU FBS Era record (since 2009) in tackles for
loss, while becoming only the fourth defender in all-time Hilltopper history with
double-digit quarterback takedowns. Meanwhile, his 99 total tackles were the
third-most by an FBS defensive lineman in a single-season over the past decade.
Among all returning players to college football in 2020, Malone ranks fourth with
11.5 sacks and third with 21 tackles for loss. In addition, he is only 1-of-3
returning conference Defensive Players of the Year out of the 10 FBS leagues.
Starting with the season opener against UT Chattanooga – which has been moved to
Thursday, September 3, with a kickoff time of 6 p.m. CT – second-year head coach
Tyson Helton and the 2020 Hilltoppers will face a wire-to-wire grind, as nine of the
team’s original 11 FBS opponents competed in a bowl game in 2019.
