Alabama Football’s Scott, Fitzpatrick Named National Award Finalists
Alabama senior punter JK Scott is a finalist for the Ray Guy Award while junior defensive back Minkah Fitzpatrick is among the final candidates for the Jim Thorpe Award and the Chuck Bednarik Award, it was announced Monday.
Scott has been dominant once again this season, punting 38 times for 1,638 yards to average 43.1 yards per boot. The senior owns a season-long 59-yard kick with 13 of his punts going for 50-plus yards. Scott has dropped 21 of his kicks inside the opponent’s 20-yard line and has allowed only three returns all season totaling just two yards. Scott is joined as a finalist by Michael Dickson (University of Texas) and Mitch Wishnowsky (University of Utah).
Fitzpatrick is the Tide’s fifth-leading tackler with 44 stops and has added 5.5 tackles for loss (-25 yards), 1.5 sacks (15 yards), six pass breakups, three quarterback hurries, one forced fumble and a blocked kick through 11 games this season. The Old Bridge, N.J., native was previously announced as a finalist for the Bronko Nagurski Trophy and is a semifinalist for the Lott IMPACT Trophy. Other finalists for the Bednarik Award are Bradley Chubb (North Carolina State University) and Roquan Smith (University of Georgia). Thorpe Award finalists include DeShon Elliott (University of Texas) and Josh Jackson (University of Iowa). Jonathan Allen became Alabama’s first Bednarik Award winner in 2016 while Antonio Langham was honored Alabama’s only Thorpe Award winner in 1993.
The Guy, Bednarik and Thorpe winners will all be announced at the annual Home Depot College Football Awards Show hosted by the College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta, Ga., on Dec. 7.