FWAA > News > Bronko Nagurski Trophy Watch List

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July 10, 2015
For Immediate Release
Contact: Steve Richardson
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88 players get consideration for defensive player of the year

2015 BRONKO NAGURSKI
TROPHY WATCH LIST UNVEILED

DALLAS (FWAA) — The 2014 Bronko Nagurski Trophy winner Scooby Wright III tops the 88-man 2015 Bronko Nagurski Trophy Watch List announced by the Football Writers Association of America on Friday.

Wright, a junior linebacker from Arizona, will seek to become only the second player in the 22-year history of the award to win it twice after Northwestern's Pat Fitzgerald in 1995-96. Ohio State end Joey Bosa, another first team FWAA All-America from 2014, also returns as a junior to challenge Wright.

There are five FWAA second-teamer All-Americas from a year ago on the 2015 Watch List: Michigan State end Shilique Calhoun, and defensive backs Kendall Fuller of Virginia Tech, Jeremy Cash of Duke, Jalen Ramsey of Florida State and Michael Caputo of Wisconsin.

Players may be added or removed from the watch list during the course of the season. Once again, the FWAA will announce a Bronko Nagurski National Defensive Player of the Week each Tuesday from early September through mid November. If not already on the watch list, the honored player will be added at that time. The FWAA and the Charlotte Touchdown Club will announce five finalists for the 2015 Bronko Nagurski Trophy on Nov. 19.

The Bronko Nagurski Trophy winner will be chosen from those five finalists who are part of the 2014 FWAA All-America Team. The FWAA All-America Committee, after voting input from the association's entire membership, selects the 26-man All-America Team and eventually the Nagurski finalists. Committee members, then by individual ballot, select the winner, the best defensive player in college football during the FWAA's 75th anniversary year.

The annual Bronko Nagurski Trophy Banquet, presented by ACN, will be held on Dec. 7 at the Westin Hotel in Charlotte. In addition to the 2015 Bronko Nagurski Trophy winner's announcement, the banquet will also celebrate the recipient of the Bronko Nagurski Legends Award, sponsored by the CTC and Florida East Coast Railway. Ohio State's Randy Gradishar, a member of the FWAA's 1973 All-America team and a College Football Hall of Famer, will be honored. Auburn head coach Gus Malzahn will be the keynote speaker at the banquet.

The FWAA has named a National Defensive Player of the Year since 1993. In 1995, the FWAA named the award in honor of the legendary two-way player from the University of Minnesota. Nagurski dominated college football then became a star for professional football's Chicago Bears in the 1930s. Bronislaw "Bronko" Nagurski is a charter member of both the College Football and Pro Football Halls of Fame.

2015 BRONKO NAGURSKI TROPHY PRESEASON WATCH LIST (88)
Dominique Alexander, Oklahoma, LB	Jordan Lucas, Penn State, DB
Jonathan Allen, Alabama, DE	Luther Maddy, Virginia Tech, DT
Budda Baker, Washington, DB	Curt Maggitt, Tennessee, LB
Dante Barnett, Kansas State, DB	Corey Marshall, Virginia Tech, DT
Derek Barnett, Tennessee, DE	Blake Martinez, Stanford, LB
Kendell Beckwith, LSU, LB	Tyler Matakevich, Temple, LB
Vonn Bell, Ohio State, DB	Danzel McDaniel, Kansas State, DB
Vince Biegel, Wisconsin, LB	Adrian McDonald, Houston, DB
Andrew Billings, Baylor, DT	Cassanova McKinzy, Auburn, LB
Quin Blanding, Virginia, DB	Jalen Mills, LSU, DB
Briean Boddy-Calhoun, Minnesota, DB	Fabian Moreau, UCLA, DB
Joey Bosa, Ohio State, DE	Antonio Morrison, Florida, LB
Kentrell Brothers, Missouri, LB	Eric Murray, Minnesota, DB
DeForest Buckner, Oregon, DE	Dadi Nicolas, Virginia Tech, DE
James Burgess, Louisville, LB	Robert Nkemdiche, Ole Miss, DT
Shilique Calhoun, Michigan State, DE	Jared Norris, Utah, LB
Maurice Canady, Virginia, DB	Shawn Oakman, Baylor, DE
Michael Caputo, Wisconsin, DB	Pat O'Connor, Eastern Michigan, DE
Jeremy Cash, Duke, DB	Emmanuel Ogbah, Oklahoma State, DE
Kenny Clark, UCLA, DT	Drew Ott, Iowa, DE
Maliek Collins, Nebraska, DT	Joshua Perry, Ohio State, LB
Tony Conner, Ole Miss, DB	Reggie Ragland, Alabama, LB
Kamalei Correa, Boise State, DE	Jalen Ramsey, Florida State, DB
Su'a Cravens, USC, LB	Sheldon Rankins, Louisville, DE
Sheldon Day, Notre Dame, DT	Will Redmond, Mississippi State, DB
Ken Ekanem, Virginia Tech, DE	Pete Robertson, Texas Tech, DE
Kyler Fackrell, Utah State, LB	A'Shawn Robinson, Alabama, DT
Leonard Floyd, Georgia, LB	KeiVarae Russell, Notre Dame, DB
Kendall Fuller, Virginia Tech, DB	Zack Sanchez, Oklahoma, DB
Myles Garrett, Texas A&M, DE	Jovan Santos-Knox, Massachusetts, LB
Adam Gotsis, Georgia Tech, DT	Joe Schmidt, Notre Dame, LB
Vernon Hargreaves III, Florida, DB	Ian Seau, Nevada, DE
Myles Jack, UCLA, LB	Terrance Smith, Florida State, LB
William Jackson, Houston, DB	Jaylon Smith, Notre Dame, LB
Adoreé Jackson, USC, DB	Eric Striker, Oklahoma, LB
Jordan Jenkins, Georgia, DE	Charles Tapper, Oklahoma, DE
Gerrand Johnson, ULM, DT	Darian Thompson, Boise State, DB
Jonathan Jones, Auburn, DB	Jeremy Timpf, Army, LB
Chris Jones, Mississippi State, DT	Travis Tuiloma, BYU, DT
Karl Joseph, West Virginia, DB	Adolphus Washington, Ohio State, DT
Bronson Kaufusi, BYU, DE	Xavier Woods, Louisiana Tech, DB
Carl Lawson Auburn, DE	Scooby Wright III, Arizona, LB
Darron Lee, Ohio State, LB	Ronald Zamort, Western Michigan, DB
William Likely, Maryland, DB	Anthony Zettel, Penn State, DT
By conference: SEC 20, Big Ten 15, ACC 13, Big 12 11, Pac-12 10, Independents 7, Mountain West 4, American Athletic 3, Mid-American 3, Conference USA 1, Sun Belt 1.
By position: Tackles 14, Ends 20, Linebackers 25, Backs 29.
Players may be added or removed from the list before or during the season

Celebrating its 75th anniversary this season, the Football Writers Association of America consists of 1,400 men and women who cover college football. The membership includes journalists, broadcasters and publicists, as well as key executives in all the areas that involve the game. The FWAA works to govern areas that include game-day operations, major awards and its annual All-America team. For more information about the FWAA and its award programs, contact Steve Richardson at tiger@fwaa.com.

The Bronko Nagurski Trophy is a member of the National College Football Awards Association (NCFAA) which encompasses the most prestigious awards in college football. The 22 awards boast more than 700 years of tradition-selection excellence. Visit www.NCFAA.org to learn more about our story.

Beginning in 2015, The Home Depot College Football Awards will have a new home at the National Football Foundation's College Football Hall of Fame and Chick-fil-A Fan Experience in downtown Atlanta. Airing live on ESPN on December 10, 2015, college football's brightest stars will be honored for their performance on and off the field.

The members of the NCFAA are unveiling their preseason watch lists over a 11-day period this month. Sixteen of the association's 22 awards select a preseason watch list and the NCFAA has spearheaded a coordinated effort to promote each award's preseason candidates. Following is the complete 2015 preseason watch list calendar:

Tues., July 7: Bednarik Award/Maxwell Award
Wed., July 8: Mackey Award/Rimington Trophy
Thurs., July 9: Lou Groza Award/Ray Guy Award
Fri., July 10: Bronko Nagurski Trophy/Outland Trophy
Mon., July 13: Jim Thorpe Award
Tues., July 14: Butkus Award/Rotary Lombardi Award
Wed., July 15: Biletnikoff Award/Wuerffel Trophy
Thurs, July 16: Davey O'Brien Award/Doak Walker Award
Fri., July 17: Walter Camp Award

ABOUT THE CHARLOTTE TOUCHDOWN CLUB AND ITS SPONSORS

The Charlotte Touchdown Club is a non-profit organization founded in 1990 for the purpose of promoting high school, collegiate, and professional football in the Charlotte, N.C., region. The club's activities and services focus community attention on the outstanding citizenship, scholarship, sportsmanship, and leadership of area athletes and coaches. For more information, contact John Rocco (704-347-2918 or jrocco@touchdownclub.com). The official website of the Charlotte Touchdown Club is touchdownclub.com.

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Florida East Coast Railway: FECR is a regional freight railroad that extends along a 351-mile corridor between Jacksonville, Fla., and Miami, Fla., with exclusive rail access to the Port of Palm Beach, Port Everglades (Ft. Lauderdale) and the Port of Miami. For more information, visit fecrwy.com.

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