Texas Tech's Rodriguez Wins Bednarik Award, 5th National Honor

LUBBOCK, TX — Texas Tech senior linebacker Jacob Rodriguez added to his growing list of national honors Friday night, winning the Bednarik Award during the College Football Awards Show on ESPN.

Rodriguez becomes the first Red Raider in program history to earn the Bednarik Award, presented annually by the Maxwell Football Club to the nation’s top defensive player. He was selected over Ohio State safety Caleb Downs and Texas A&M defensive end Cashius Howell.

The senior has now collected five major national awards this season, including the Butkus Award (top linebacker), Bronko Nagurski Trophy (top defensive player), Lombardi Award (top lineman or linebacker) and Pony Express Award (top duo, shared with running back David Bailey). He is only the third player ever to win the Butkus, Nagurski and Bednarik awards in the same season, joining Miami’s Dan Morgan in 2000 and Notre Dame’s Manti Te’o in 2012. Rodriguez and Te’o are also the only players to pair those honors with a Lombardi Award.

Rodriguez, named a first-team All-American by the Walter Camp Foundation during the broadcast, has anchored a Texas Tech defense that helped deliver the school’s first Big 12 championship and first College Football Playoff berth. The Red Raiders are 12-1 entering their semifinal matchup against either No. 5 Oregon or No. 12 James Madison, setting a program record for wins.

A former scholarship quarterback at Virginia who walked on at Texas Tech before switching positions, Rodriguez has now helped lead the Red Raiders to four straight bowl appearances. He attended Friday’s ceremony with his parents, Joe and Ann Rodriguez, and his wife, Emma.

Rodriguez enters bowl season as the FBS leader with seven forced fumbles and ranks among the top 15 nationally with 117 tackles. He is the first FBS player since 2005 to finish a season with at least five forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries, and four interceptions. The Texas Tech defense leads the nation with 31 takeaways and ranks third in scoring defense at 10.9 points per game. Rodriguez produced nine takeaways himself — all in Big 12 play.

Pro Football Focus currently rates Rodriguez as the top player in college football with a 93.3 overall grade. He holds the highest rush-defense grade in the country (95.5) and ranks fifth in coverage (92.3). Texas Tech is allowing just 68.5 rushing yards per game, the lowest mark in the nation.

Established in 1995, the Chuck Bednarik Award is considered one of the premier honors in college football, recognizing the nation’s most outstanding defensive player. It is named for Hall of Fame linebacker Chuck Bednarik.