Minnesota redshirt senior Cody Lindenberg has been named to the Chuck Bednarik Award watch list. The award is annually given out to the nation’s best defensive player in the eyes of the Maxwell Football Club.
Lindenberg is entering his fifth season with the program after missing most of last season. However, in his four games played, Lindenberg left his mark with 31 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss, and one forced fumble. He enters this fall with 115 career tackles, 7.5 tackles for loss, and one sack across 26 career games.
Due to his injuries in 2023, it was a disappointing season for the Anoka, Minnesota native especially after putting together a strong 2022 campaign in which he played in all 13 games including making six starts, recording 71 tackles including four tackles for loss and one sack.
In 2024, Lindenberg is expected to be a key part of the Gophers defense and the leader in the middle of their defense.
During Big Ten Media Days last month, Minnesota head coach P.J. Fleck said the following about the fifth-year linebacker.
"I think one of the best linebackers in the Big Ten. Again, we were hit with the injury bug last year and only played in a few games last year. But he's the heartbeat of our defense," Fleck said. "He's everything to our defense. He's the voice. He's the reason. He gets everybody aligned, we're really excited to have a healthy Cody Lindenberg in 2024."
The Gophers will hope that a healthy Lindenberg helps improve a defense that allowed 26.7 points and 368.4 yards of total offense per game in 2023. The Gophers will kick off their 2024 season on August 29 at home against the North Carolina Tar Heels.
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