Syracuse Football: Andre Cisco named to Bednarik Award Watch List

Syracuse football safety Andre Cisco is on the 2020 Bednarik Award Watch List. While awards can only speak for so much, this one is pretty darn cool.

If there’s one Syracuse football player who wants the 2020 season to go on, it’s Andre Cisco. The ball-hawking, hard-hitting safety has been absolutely racking up pre-season awards to this point, and the list is continuing to grow. Cisco has been named to the Bednarik Award Watch List, which is given to the top defender in all of college football.

According to a press release from the ACC, the conference led all others with 18 players named to the Bednarik Award Watch List. Cisco is the only Syracuse football player on the list and is one of three safeties, joining Florida State’s Hamsah Nasirildeen and Pitt’s Paris Ford.

This pre-season award is just the latest on a long list that Cisco has accumulated leading up to the 2020 season. He was also recently spotted at 23rd in an NFL Mock Draft, citing his potential at the next level.

With 12 career interceptions, Cisco is at the top of the leaderboard for active college football players. The Syracuse football standout tied for the NCAA lead in 2018, with seven picks.

What is perhaps the most noticeable thing about Cisco is how he doesn’t seem to let the hype get to him. He followed those seven interceptions as a freshman with five more as a sophomore. He’s also as hardworking as they come, and will always be there to help out his teammates.

If Syracuse football is able to play this fall, Cisco will undoubtedly be the most important player to keep an eye on. If all of these preseason predictions come true, he will have a chance to become the first Orange player selected in the first round of the NFL Draft since Justin Pugh in 2013.

With the Covid-19 pandemic continuing to alter the college football schedule in 2020, it’s unclear when Cisco will see the field in Orange again. But when it happens, it should be something to watch.