USC cornerback Jontez Williams has landed on the 2026 Chuck Bednarik Award Watch List, with the announcement coming Aug. 21.
The Bednarik Award goes to the outstanding defensive player in college football each year, and Williams arrives at USC with a résumé that explains why he’s in the mix. He transferred from Iowa State in January of 2026 and was ranked as the No. 1 cornerback in the transfer portal, giving the Trojans a defensive back expected to make an immediate mark.
At Iowa State, Williams played in 32 games and made 29 starts over four seasons. He finished with 67 tackles, including 3.5 for loss of 5 yards, along with 15 PBUs and 5 INTs.
The award itself has been handed out to the College Defensive Player of the Year since 1994 and is named for Chuck "Concrete Charlie" Bednarik. Bednarik starred at the University of Pennsylvania as an All-American before becoming a multiple-year All Pro linebacker and center for the Philadelphia Eagles. He is in both the College and Pro Football Halls of Fame and was the last NFL player to be a full-time player on both offense and defense.
The next steps in the award process are already set. Semifinalists will be announced Nov. 10, the three finalists will be unveiled Nov. 24, and the winner of the 32 nd Chuck Bednarik Award will be revealed during the ESPN Home Depot College Football Awards Show on Dec.
- Formal presentations of the Maxwell Award will be made at the Maxwell Football Club Awards on March 13, 2027, at the Coca Cola Roxy Theater in Atlanta.
In Other News...
USC-UCLA Has One Tradition College Football Should Stop Copying
When Alabama and Tennessee announced they would both wear their home uniforms for their meeting this season, it stirred up an old college football debate: whether more rivalries should embrace the look that has long defined USC and UCLA. In Los Angeles, the setup works because it is tied to one specific game, one specific feel and one of the sports most recognizable visual traditions, with the Trojans cardinal and the Bruins blue playing off each other in a way that instantly says something about the rivalry itself.
But making double-home uniforms a routine habit across college football would risk turning a special wrinkle into a gimmick. The NFL learned as much during its Color Rush experiment, where color-on-color matchups sometimes looked fresh and sometimes just looked awkward, and thats the caution here for USC fans who know the rivalrys aesthetic is part of the event. What makes USC-UCLA stand out is that it is not everywhere, and college football is usually better when it leaves a few traditions alone. [Read more 🡒]
Why USC Fans Still Treat One Enemy Different Than Everyone Else
For USC fans, the old grievances still have a way of dwarfing the modern rivalry map. ESPNs recent list of arch-enemies for power conference programs put the NCAA at the top of the Trojans board instead of a fellow school, a nod to how deeply the sanctions from the Reggie Bush investigation still linger in the fan bases memory. The punishment tied to improper benefits never faded into simple history around here; it became part of how USC supporters tell the story of what the program lost and who they blame for it.
The resentment is sharpened by the feeling that college footballs enforcement has never looked even-handed. USCs punishment remains a touchstone in debates over fairness because the NCAAs handling of violations has often seemed inconsistent, and Penn States less severe sanction for far more serious infractions is still a painful comparison for Trojan fans. So while rivalries usually come with a school, a mascot or a border war, USCs most personal beef remains institutional, and it is not hard to see why that edge has never really gone away. [Read more 🡒]
USC Secondary Hype Around Jontez Williams Comes With One Big Catch
Jontez Williams arrives at USC with the kind of rsum that naturally gets people talking. The Iowa State transfer was an All-Big 12 Second Team selection in 2024, and his reputation as a disruptive defensive back has already made him one of the more intriguing pieces in the Trojans secondary heading into the upcoming season. An analyst even slotted him 145th among college football players, which says plenty about the respect he carries and the level of expectation surrounding him in Los Angeles.
For USC, the appeal is obvious: Williams is expected to play a significant role right away in a unit that needs difference-makers. The catch is just as obvious, though no less important. His value to the Trojans hinges on health, and that makes his availability one of the quieter but more consequential storylines as USC tries to stabilize its defense and turn a promising addition into a real asset. [Read more 🡒]