Florida State’s run of Bednarik Award watch list recognition is alive again, and this time it belongs to Ja’bril Rawls.
The defensive back is the latest Seminole to land on the preseason list for the award, which goes to college football’s defensive player of the year as selected by the Maxwell Football Club. Florida State has now put a defender on the Bednarik watch list in seven straight seasons, with Rawls extending a streak that began in 2020.
That line of Seminole defenders includes DE Patrick Payton in 2024, DE Jared Verse in 2023, DB Jammie Robinson in 2022, LB Amari Gainer in 2021 and Hamsah Nasirildeen in 2020.
Rawls arrives at this point with a strong resume and a growing role in the Florida State secondary. Listed at 6-foot-1 and 178 pounds, he was regarded as a top 50 cornerback and top 100 overall prospect out of high school, where he played on both sides of the ball. Across three prep seasons, he piled up 1,555 all-purpose yards, 98 tackles, six interceptions and five touchdowns on punt and kickoff returns.
Now entering his fourth season in the program under Mike Norvell, Rawls is expected to help set the tone in the back end of the defense. Last season, he finished with 40 tackles, one interception, two tackles for loss and two pass breakups. His biggest game came against Virginia, when he posted 11 tackles, an interception and a tackle for loss.
Florida State will need that kind of production again from Rawls and the rest of the third level of the defense. He could also factor into the return game for the Seminoles.
Rawls is set to anchor a pass defense that ranked No. 2 in the ACC and 28th nationally last season, giving up 190 yards per game through the air while also collecting 12 interceptions. That could be a useful edge when Florida State faces opponents such as Clemson, a team the Seminoles have not beaten in the Norvell era. Clemson went 7-6 last season, lost nine players to the NFL from that roster and will open this season with an inexperienced quarterback.
Rawls has also picked up several other preseason nods: second-team All-ACC from Phil Steele, a spot on the Shriner’s Children East-West Shrine Bowl 1000 and inclusion in the Panini Senior Bowl Top 300.
The Bednarik Award debuted in 1995. Pat Fitzgerald of Northwestern and Paul Posluszny of Penn State remain the only two-time winners. The Maxwell Football Club, founded in 1935, says it “recognizes those who elevate the game of football through performance, leadership, character and service," and has done so for the last 90 years.
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