AUBURN, Ala. – It's only July, and the accolades continue to pour in for Auburn defensive lineman Derrick Brown. The senior was named to the Bednarik Award preseason watch list on Monday and then two days later, he was selected to the Lott IMPACT Trophy preseason watch list.
The Bednarik Award, named after NFL Hall of Famer Chuck Bednarik, has been presented annually to the College Defensive Player of the Year since 1995.
The Lott IMPACT Trophy is named after another Hall of Famer, Ronnie Lott, and is given to college football's Defensive IMPACT Player of the Year. It's the first and only college football award to equally recognize athletic performance and personal character attributes of the player.
Next on our list is @AuburnFootball's @DerrickBrownAU5, a three-year starter and first team preseason All-SEC selection by Phil Steele. Brown is a member of the SEC Student-Athlete Leadership Council and was a finalist for the Jason Witten Collegiate Man of the Year last year. pic.twitter.com/L9U6oy0MCX
— Lott IMPACT Trophy (@TheLottTrophy) July 17, 2019
Brown, who will represent Auburn at SEC Media Days on Thursday, is a worthy nominee for his efforts both on and off the field. On the field, he's been a force up front for the Tigers the past three seasons with 115 career tackles, 21 tackles for loss and nine sacks in 40 games. Off the field, he's served on various leadership committees and was a finalist for the Jason Witten Collegiate Man of the Year last year.
Though Auburn has never had a Bednarik Award winner in its storied history, the Tigers have had at least one player named to the preseason watch list in each of the past two seasons (Dontavius Russell and Javaris Davis – 2018, Tray Matthews – 2017).
Also last year, senior linebacker Deshaun Davis represented Auburn on the Lott IMPACT Trophy preseason watch list and later made the cut as a quarterfinalist for the award.