Sports
Red Raiders tie for FBS lead with three Bednarik picks
Texas Tech football landed three players on the 2026 Bednarik Award watch list, tying the Red Raiders with Alabama, BYU, Georgia, Indiana, LSU, Notre Dame and Oklahoma for the most nominations of any FBS program in the country. The Bednarik Award goes to the College Defensive Player of the Year, and having three guys on the same watch list is not something Tech fans have had much reason to expect.
The Bednarik Award goes to the College Defensive Player of the Year, and having three guys on the same watch list is not something Tech fans have had much reason to expect. Holmes, Pollock and Roberts are among 91 players nationally being tracked for the honor. The SEC leads all conferences with 24 representatives, followed by the Big Ten with 19, the Big 12 with 17 and the ACC with 12.
This matters for Lubbock because the program is stacking defensive credibility fast. Last year's winner was Tech's own Jacob Rodriguez, who became the first Red Raider ever to take home the Bednarik and then got drafted in the second round by the Miami Dolphins in 2025. The same three players are also on the Bronko Nagurski Trophy watch list, announced August 4, which honors national defensive excellence.
Rodriguez went from Bednarik winner to NFL second-rounder in one offseason, which sets a pretty clear bar for what this kind of recognition can mean for a player's future.
Common questions
Which Texas Tech players are on the 2026 Bednarik Award watch list?
- Holmes, Pollock and Roberts are the three Red Raiders named to the 2026 Bednarik Award watch list. They are among 91 players nationwide being tracked for the award, which goes to the College Defensive Player of the Year.
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