| Daily Blog •July 9, 2011 |
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All week long I have been giving you the preseason watch lists for the various awards that I am a proud voting member for and with each of these lists I was an integral part in the players that were selected. Yesterday the 2011 Bronko Nagurski Trophy Watch List was released. The award goes to the nation’s best defensive player and the winner is selected by the Football Writers Association of America, which I am also a proud member of and the Charlotte Touchdown Club.
This year 87 players make the list and every conference and Notre Dame are represented on the list that is pretty evenly divided among linemen, linebackers and defensive backs. Overall 12 players make the list for the second year in a row including Alabama S Mark Barron, TCU LB Tank Carder, Nebraska DT Jared Crick, Boston College LB Luke Kuechly and Notre Dame LB Manti Te’o.
By conference: SEC 19, ACC 14, Big Ten 10, Big 12 9, Pac-12 9, Big East 6, Conference USA 5, Mountain West 5, Independents 3, MAC 3, WAC 3, Sun Belt 1.
Here is the complete list.
2011 Bronko Nagurski Trophy Watch List
| Ray-Ray Armstrong, Miami, S | Markelle Martin, Oklahoma State, S |
| Mark Barron, Alabama, S | Mike Martin, Michigan, DT |
| Jake Bequette, Arkansas, DE | Chris Marve, Vanderbilt, LB |
| Brandon Boykin, Georgia, CB | Jonathan Massaquoi, Troy, DE |
| Nigel Bradham, Florida State, LB | Michael Mauti, Penn State, LB |
| Tanner Brock, TCU, LB | T.J. McDonald, USC, S |
| Arthur Brown, Kansas State, LB | Chase Minnifield, Virginia, CB |
| Zach Brown, North Carolina, LB | Charles Mitchell, Mississippi State, S |
| Vince Browne, Northwestern, DE | Roosevelt Nix, Kent State, DE |
| Vontaze Burfict, Arizona State, LB | Donte Paige-Moss, North Carolina, DE |
| Miles Burris, San Diego State, LB | Dontari Poe, Memphis, DT |
| Tank Carder, TCU, LB | Tydreke Powell, North Carolina, DT |
| Morris Claiborne, LSU, CB | Shaun Prater, Iowa, CB |
| Quinton Coples, North Carolina, DE | Kheeston Randall, Texas, DT |
| Fletcher Cox, Mississippi State, DE | Kendall Reyes, Connecticut, DT |
| Jared Crick, Nebraska, DT | Xavier Rhodes, Florida State, CB |
| Vinny Curry, Marshall, DE | Adrian Robinson, Temple, DE |
| Lavonte David, Nebraska, LB | Josh Robinson, UCF, CB |
| Alfonzo Dennard, Nebraska, CB | Keenan Robinson, Texas, LB |
| Tony Dye, UCLA, S | J.K. Schaffer, Cincinnati, LB |
| Marcus Forston, Miami, DT | Kawann Short, Purdue, DT |
| Jerry Franklin, Arkansas, LB | Mychal Sisson, Colorado State, LB |
| Stephon Gilmore, South Carolina, CB | Shayne Skov, Stanford, LB |
| Zaviar Gooden, Missouri, LB | Harrison Smith, Notre Dame, S |
| Logan Harrell, Fresno State, DT | Akeem Spence, Illinois, DT |
| Cliff Harris, Oregon, CB | Sean Spence, Miami, LB |
| Casey Hayward, Vanderbilt, CB | Alameda Ta'amu, Washington, DT |
| Dont'a Hightower, Alabama, LB | Keith Tandy, West Virginia, CB |
| Jayron Hosley, Virginia Tech, CB | Kenny Tate, Maryland, LB |
| Jaye Howard, Florida, DT | Bruce Taylor, Virginia Tech, LB |
| Delano Howell, Stanford, S | Devin Taylor, South Carolina, DE |
| Bruce Irvin, West Virginia, DE | Manti Te'o, Notre Dame, LB |
| Malik Jackson, Tennessee, DT | Taylor Thompson, SMU, DE |
| Brandon Jenkins, Florida State, DE | Danny Trevathan, Kentucky, LB |
| James-Michael Johnson, Nevada, LB | Courtney Upshaw, Alabama, LB |
| Coryell Judie, Texas A&M, CB | Prentiss Waggner, Tennessee, S |
| Mychal Kendricks, California, LB | Bobby Wagner, Utah State, LB |
| Dre Kirkpatrick, Alabama, CB | Brian Wagner, Akron, LB |
| Jake Knott, Iowa State, LB | Korey Williams, Southern Miss, LB |
| Luke Kuechly, Boston College, LB | Nathan Williams, Ohio State, DE |
| Robert Lester, Alabama, S | Billy Winn, Boise State, DT |
| Travis Lewis, Oklahoma, LB | Derek Wolfe, Cincinnati, DT |
| Brandon Lindsey, Pittsburgh, DE | Jerel Worthy, Michigan State, DT |
| Brad Madison, Missouri, DE |
Players may be added or deleted from the Bronko Nagurski Watch List during the season. For the 11th straight season, the FWAA will choose a National Defensive Player of the Week. If that player is not on the Watch List, he automatically will be added. The FWAA and the Charlotte Touchdown Club will announce five finalists for the Bronko Nagurski Trophy on Nov. 17.
The Bronko Nagurski Trophy winner is chosen from five finalists who are part of the FWAA All-America Team. The FWAA All-America Committee, after voting input from the entire membership, selects the 25-man team and eventually the Bronko Nagurski finalists. Committee members, then by individual ballot, select the winner, the best defensive player in America.
The annual Bronko Nagurski Trophy Banquet will be on Dec. 12 at the Westin Hotel in Charlotte, N.C.
The Football Writers Association of America, a non-profit organization founded in 1941, consists of more than 1,200 men and women who cover college football for a living. 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 gameday operations, major awards and its annual All-America team. For more information about the FWAA and its award programs, contact Steve Richardson at tigerfwaa@aol.com or 972-713-6198.