DALLAS -- Desmond King of Iowa, Shawun Lurry of Northern Illinois and Myles Garrett of Texas A&M headline the 2016 Bronko Nagurski Trophy Watch List that includes 88 defensive standouts from all 10 Division I FBS conferences. King, Lurry and Garrett are the returning first-team Football Writers Association of America All-Americans.
The watch list also includes a pair of returning second-team FWAA All-Americans, Eddie Jackson from Alabama and Jourdan Lewis from Michigan.
The Southeastern Conference led all conferences with 27 players, followed by the Big Ten (13), Pac-12 (13), ACC (11), Big 12 (10), Mid-American (4), Mountain West (3), American Athletic (2), Conference USA (2), Sun Belt (1) and Independents (2). Alabama and LSU each had five players on the list, which included 31 backs, 29 linebackers, 21 ends and seven tackles.
Complete list: College football preseason watch lists
Players may be added or removed from the watch list during the course of the season. Once again, the FWAA will announce a National Defensive Player of the Week 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 2016 Bronko Nagurski Trophy on Thurs., Nov. 17.
The Bronko Nagurski Trophy winner will be chosen from those five finalists who are part of the 2016 FWAA All-America Team. The FWAA All-America Committee, after voting input from the association's entire membership, selects a 26-man All-America Team and eventually the Nagurski Trophy finalists. Committee members, then by individual ballot, select the winner, the best defensive player in college football.
The annual Bronko Nagurski Trophy Banquet, presented by ACN, will be held on Mon., Dec. 5 at the Charlotte Convention Center. In addition to the 2016 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. Navy's Chet Moeller, a member of the FWAA's 1975 All-America Team and a College Football Hall of Famer, will be honored. Duke head coach David Cutcliffe will be the keynote speaker at the banquet.
| Bronko Nagurski Trophy Preseason Watch List | |
|---|---|
| Montravius Adams, Auburn, DT | Elijah Lee, Kansas State, LB |
| Jamal Adams, LSU, DB | Jourdan Lewis, Michigan, DB |
| Jonathan Allen, Alabama, DE | Tyquan Lewis, Ohio State, DE |
| Chidobe Awuzie, Colorado, DB | William Likely, Maryland, DB |
| Budda Baker, Washington, DB | Lowell Lotulelei, Utah, DT |
| Dante Barnett, Kansas State, DB | Shawun Lurry, Northern Illinois, DB |
| Derek Barnett, Tennessee, DE | Jamal Marcus, Akron, DE |
| Kendell Beckwith, LSU, LB | Marcus Maye, Florida, DB |
| Vince Biegel, Wisconsin, LB | Malik McDowell, Michigan State, DT |
| Quin Blanding, Virginia, DB | Raekwon McMillan, Ohio State |
| Ben Boulware, Clemson, LB | Fabian Moreau, UCLA, DB |
| Richie Brown, Mississippi State, LB | Calvin Munson, San Diego State, LB |
| Riley Bullough, Michigan State, LB | Lewis Neal, LSU, DE |
| Josh Carraway, TCU, DE | Hardy Nickerson, Illinois, LB |
| Lorenzo Carter, Georgia, LB | Steven Parker, Oklahoma, DB |
| Tony Conner, Ole Miss, DB | Jabrill Peppers, Michigan, LB |
| Zach Cunningham, Vanderbilt, LB | Jalen Reeves-Maybin, Tennessee, LB |
| Jarrad Davis, Florida, LB | TJ Ricks, Old Dominion, LB |
| Hunter Dimick, Utah, DE | Isaac Rochell, Notre Dame, DE |
| Ken Ekanem, Virginia Tech, DE | Ja'Von Rolland-Jones, Arkansas State, DE |
| Devonte Fields, Louisville, DE | Duke Shelley, Kansas State, DB |
| Salamo Fiso, Arizona State, LB | Cameron Smith, USC, LB |
| Kylie Fitts, Utah, DE | Weston Steelhammer, Air Force, DB |
| Reuben Foster, Alabama, LB | Jordan Sterns, Oklahoma State, DB |
| Myles Garrett, Texas A&M, DE | Jamar Summers, UConn, DB |
| Davon Godchaux, LSU, DT | Cameron Sutton, Tennessee, DB |
| Daeshon Hall, Texas A&M, DE | Jalen Tabor, Florida, DB |
| Charles Harris, Missouri, DE | Cordrea Tankersley, Clemson, DB |
| Josh Harvey-Clemons, Louisville, DB | Steven Taylor, Houston, LB |
| Marquis Haynes, Ole Miss, DE | Ahmad Thomas, Oklahoma, DB |
| Treyvon Hester, Toledo, DT | Tanner Vallejo, Boise State, LB |
| Travin Howard, TCU, LB | Eddie Vanderdoes, UCLA, DT |
| Shane Huber, Massachusetts, LB | Azeem Victor, Washington, LB |
| Marlon Humphrey, Alabama, DB | Anthony Walker Jr., Northwestern, LB |
| Adoreé Jackson, USC, DB | Charles Walker, Oklahoma, DE |
| Eddie Jackson, Alabama | DeMarcus Walker, Florida State, DE |
| Derwin James, Florida State, DB | Carlos Watkins, Clemson, DT |
| Malik Jefferson, Texas, LB | Tre'Davious White, LSU, DB |
| Josey Jewell, Iowa, LB | Jordan Whitehead, Pittsburgh, DB |
| Sidney Jones, Washington, DB | Marcus Williams, Utah, DB |
| Andrew King, Army, LB | Tim Williams, Alabama, LB |
| Desmond King, Iowa, DB | Deatrich Wise Jr., Arkansas, DE |
| Micah Kiser, Virginia, LB | Xavier Woods, Louisiana Tech, DB |
| Carl Lawson, Auburn, DE | Chris Wormley, Michigan, DE |
The FWAA has chosen 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.
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 over 722 years of tradition-selection excellence. Visit ncfaa.org to learn more about our story.
