Philadelphia, Pa. – Washington State defensive lineman Hercules Mata'afa was named a semifinalist for the Check Bednarik Award, the award for the nation's most outstanding Defensive Player of the Year, the Maxwell Football Club announced Monday.

Mata'afa paces the Pac-12 Conference and is tied for fourth in country with 15.0 tackles-for-loss and also owns 6.5 sacks, good for second in the conference. The redshirt-junior from Lahaina, Hawaii has recorded 30 tackles this season for the Cougars defense that ranks No. 17 in the country and eighth in the nation with 19 forced turnovers. Mata'afa also ranks fifth in WSU history with 39.5 career tackles-for-loss and eighth in program history with 18.5 career sacks.

Semifinalist voting will begin on Tuesday, Oct. 31 and will close on Nov. 19. Three will be announced on Nov. 20 and a second round of voting will take place at that time. The winner of the 23rd Chuck Bednarik Award will be announced as part of the Home Depot College Football Awards Show on ESPN on Dec. 7, 2017.