FOOTBALL NEWS: ASU-Tuskegee Labor Day tilt cancelled; Bednarik list released

COMBINED REPORTS

Alabama State has announced the cancellation of its annual rivalry with Tuskegee, scheduled for Labor Day weekend at ASU Stadium

Tuskegee, a member of the SIAC, followed the announcement from the conference with their own announcement that they would not sponsor any fall sports. The Alabama State University Department of Intercollegiate Athletics is currently working on a replacement for the Golden Tigers, a game that was scheduled for Sept. 5.

Tide, Tiger players named to Bednarik Award list

The first of 14 college football preseason watch lists was released on Monday as a group of 90 defensive standouts were recognized with the Bednarik Award watch list, which honors the nation’s best defensive player.

Ohio State’s Chase Young won the award last year and was among three finalists, along with Clemson’s Isaiah Simmons and Auburn’s Derrick Brown. While those three have moved on to the National Football League, 2019 semifinalists Derek Stingley of LSU, Micah Parsons of Penn State and Marvin Wilson of Florida State will return in 2020 to compete for the honor.

The list includes Alabama linebacker Dylan Moses and cornerback Patrick Surtain; Auburn linebacker K.J. Britt; Missouri linebacker Nick Bolton; Tennessee linebacker Henry To’a To’a; and Kentucky linebacker Jamar Watson.

Moses, a senior, missed all of 2019 with a knee injury, but was a finalist for the Butkus Award in 2018 after recording 86 tackles to earn second team All-America honors. Surtain, a junior, had 42 tackles last season and forced three fumbles, intercepted two passes and broke up eight more. He has started 25 consecutive games at Alabama.  

Jonathan Allen won Alabama’s first Bednarik Award in 2016 and Minkah Fitzpatrick followed up in 2017.

Britt took over for Deshaun Davis and started 12 of 13 games last year as a junior. He was third on the team with 69 tackles, which included a career-high eight tackles against Minnesota in the Outback Bowl. He also recorded 10 tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks and forced a fumble. 

In addition, Troy linebacker Carlton Martial made the list, along with UAB linebacker Kris Moll and UAB defensive end Jordan Smith.  

Semifinalists for the 26th Bednarik Award will be announced on Nov. 3 and finalists will be selected on Nov. 23. The winner will be announced on the College Football Awards Show on Dec. 10. 

Savarese named NFHS President-Elect

Steve Savarese, executive director of the Alabama High School Athletic Association (AHSAA), was elected by the NFHS Board of Directors to the position of president-elect for the upcoming year, and Kerwin Urhahn, executive director of the Missouri State High School Activities Association (MSHSAA), is the new president of the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) for 2020-21. 

Urhahn, the 61st president of the NFHS, began his one-year term July 2 following the NFHS Summer Meeting, which was held virtually this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Savarese’s one-year term will begin in July, 2021.

Savarese became executive director of the AHSAA in July 2007, after serving as a teacher, coach, athletic director and administrator in the states of Kansas and Alabama for more than 40 years. He is the fourth full-time AHSAA executive director.