Nohl Williams Named Chuck Bednarik Award Semifinalist

Nohl Williams is one of 20 semifinalists for the Chuck Bednarik Award.

FB11/12/2024 9:00 AM | By: Cal Athletics

Honor Goes To Nation’s Outstanding Defensive Player

California senior defensive back Nohl Williams has been named a semifinalist for the Chuck Bednarik Award, the Maxwell Football Club announced Tuesday.
 
Williams is one of 20 semifinalists representing five conferences and one independent university.
 
Semifinalist voting for the award begins today and will close on Nov. 23. Three finalists will be announced on Nov. 26 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.
 
Williams is having a standout season for the Golden Bears, leading the country in interceptions (7), which ties for seventh on Cal’s all-time list. The Oxnard native has as many interceptions as any Cal player since Daymeion Hughes’ eight in 2006, when he was the Lott IMPACT Trophy winner, a consensus first-team All-American and the Pac-10 Defensive Player of the Year.
 
Williams is two shy of Deltha O’Neal’s single-season school record of nine interceptions in 1999 and has 14 career interceptions. He is Cal’s first Chuck Bednarik Award semifinalist since Evan Weaver in 2019.
 
2024 Chuck Bednarik Award Semifinalists