Jones Named Chuck Bednarik & FWAA Player of the Week

FOOTBALL

The Maxwell Football Club has selected Georgia linebacker Jarvis Jones as the Chuck Bednarik Award presented by Cracker Barrel Player of the Week and the Football Writers Association of America named his as the Bronko Nagurski National Defensive Player of the Week

In a come-from-behind 41-20 victory at Missouri, the 6-3, 241-pound junior from Columbus, had nine tackles, two sacks, an interception, two forced fumbles and five quarterback pressures.

Jones returned his first career interception in the final quarter to the Missouri 1-yard line, setting up a score that made it 34-20. On Missouri's next possession, Jones sacked Missouri quarterback James Franklin for a loss of 11 yards and forced a fumble that the Dawgs recovered deep in Tiger territory.

"I'll be honest with you, he strained his groin in the middle of the week and he couldn't really move around very good by Wednesday," Coach Mark Richt said. "We were just hoping that he'd be able to go. It was bothering him the whole game.

"It's hard to believe that, but he sucked it up and played the whole time. He made the very big plays when we needed them the most."

"He may be the best defensive player in America," Richt said.

Jones, a 2011 FWAA All-American, is on the 2012 Bronko Nagurski Trophy Watch List. Five finalists for the Bronko Nagurski Trophy will be announced by the Football Writers Association of America on Nov. 15. The winner will be revealed on Dec. 3 during a banquet that the Charlotte Touchdown Club sponsors at the Westin Hotel in Charlotte, N.C. Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly will be the keynote speaker at the banquet.

Each Tuesday during the 2012 season the FWAA All-America Committee will select a national defensive player of the week from nominations made by the 11 Division I Bowl Subdivision conferences and major independents.

The FWAA has sponsored a National Defensive Player of the Year award since 1993 and has named a National Defensive Player of the Week since the 2001 season. Last year, Boston College linebacker Luke Kuechly won the coveted Bronko Nagurski Trophy at season's end.

The Bronko Nagurski Trophy is given in memory of the legendary All-American lineman at Minnesota (1927-29). Nagurski dominated college football at Minnesota as a bruising fullback and defensive tackle and could have been an All-America at any position. He then became a star for professional football's Chicago Bears in the 1930s.

The Charlotte Touchdown Club is a non-profit organization founded in 1990 for the purpose of promoting high school, collegiate, and professional football in the Charlotte, N.C., region. The club's activities and services focus community attention on the outstanding citizenship, scholarship, sportsmanship, and leadership of area athletes and coaches. For more information, contact John Rocco (704-347-2918 or jrocco@touchdownclub.com). The official website of the Charlotte Touchdown Club is www.touchdownclub.com.

The Football Writers Association of America, a non-profit organization founded in 1941, consists of more than 1,300 men and women who cover college football for a living. The membership includes journalists, broadcasters and publicists, as well as key executives in all the areas that involve the game. The FWAA works to govern areas that include game day operations, major awards and its annual All-America team. For more information about the FWAA and its award programs, contact Steve Richardson at tigerfwaa@aol.com or 972-713-6198.

2012 Bronko Nagurski National Defensive Players of the Week
> Sept. 1: Derrick Wells, Minnesota
> Sept. 8: Jarvis Jones, Georgia