DALLAS (FWAA) – The Football Writers Association of America released its 2024 Bronko Nagurski Trophy Watch List today, selecting 75 defensive standouts from 56 schools in nine Division I FBS conferences plus Independents as contenders for the national defensive player of the year.
The watch list roster includes last year’s winner, Xavier Watts of Notre Dame, plus five other players returning from last season’s FWAA All-America team. Two of the top three tacklers from last season, both All-Americans, are back in the mix along with three of the top five interception leaders and six secondary players who had at least five interceptions last year.
The FWAA and the Charlotte Touchdown Club will announce finalists for the 2024 trophy on Nov. 20 and the winner will be unveiled Dec. 9 at the Bronko Nagurski Awards Banquet in Charlotte, N.C.
Watts, who tied for the national lead with seven interceptions in 2023 as a first-team All-America safety, headlines the returning All-Americans as the returning honoree along with two-time All-America linebacker Jason Henderson from Old Dominion. Georgia safety Malaki Starks, a Bronko Nagurski Trophy finalist last season, is also back from the first team following a season where he was Georgia’s fourth-leading tackler and had seven PBU’s. Iowa linebacker Jay Higgins, third in the nation in tackles per game at 12.2, was also on the first team last season.
Henderson returns after consecutive seasons earinng second team recognition. The ODU senior led the nation in tackles per game last year at 14.2 and is 142 total tackles away from the NCAA record as he heads into the 2024 season. Howard Cross III, a defensive tackle at Notre Dame, and Liberty safety Brylan Green are the other returning All-Americans. There are 22 linebackers on the watch list, the most at any position, with Henderson and Higgins leading the way. Green, who tied for sixth in the nation with five interceptions last year, is one of 16 safeties, tied for second-most at any position.
Ohio State is tops among all programs with four selections that include one of the offseason’s top transfer players in Caleb Downs, coming in from Alabama. Downs, a safety, anchors the Buckeyes’ secondary along with cornerback Denzel Burke. Defensive end JT Tuimoloau and defensive tackle Tyleik Williams are Ohio State’s lineman from the list. Iowa ties Georgia for second among the teams with three selections – Higgins and fellow linebacker Nick Jackson along with cornerback Sebastian Castro. Besides Starks, Georgia has linebacker Smael Mondon and defensive end Mykel Williams represented.
Defending national champion Michigan has defensive tackle Mason Graham on the list to go with cornerback Will Johnson. There are nine Big Ten schools represented within the 16-man contingent from that conference. Ohio State, Iowa, Michigan and Oregon (two) have 11 of the 16 spots. Other standouts are Dillon Thieneman of Purdue, who tied for second nationally with six interceptions last year, and Wisconsin linebacker Hunter Wohler, tied for 21st in the FBS with 9.2 tackles per game.
Georgia’s three leads the SEC’s conference-leading 19 overall selections buoyed by two apiece from Alabama, Kentucky, Oklahoma, Texas and Texas A&M. The SEC’s new members blend right in with two apiece on the list. Oklahoma safety Billy Bowman tied Thieneman with six picks in 2023 and joins Sooners playmaking linebacker Danny Stutsman, who was 15th in tackles for loss last season averaging 1.3 per game. Texas sports safety Jahdae Barron and linebacker Anthony Hill. Twelve different SEC schools have a player on the list, including three of the nation’s best pass rushers on the ends in Texas A&M defensive end and Purdue transfer Nick Scourton (0.91 sacks/gm, 6th in FBS), Tennessee’s James Pearce (10.0 total sacks, 11th in FBS) and LSU linebacker Harold Perkins.
As a list by conference, beyond the SEC and Big Ten are a dozen players from the Big 12. Oklahoma State’s premier linebacking pair of Nick Martin and Collin Oliver are on the list – Martin was 15th nationally in total tackles last year with 10.0 per game – and Big 12 newcomer Arizona also has a duo in cornerback Tacario Davis and linebacker Jacob Manu. Much-heralded cornerback Travis Hunter of Colorado makes the list, and Iowa State lists both its safeties in Jeremiah Cooper, who had five picks last year, and Beau Freyler. Utah’s Junior Tafuna is regarded as one of the country’s best defensive tackles.
The ACC has seven players represented followed by the American (5), Mountain West (4), Sun Belt (4), Conference USA (3), Mid-American (3), Independents (2). There is not a selection from the two Pac-12 programs.
Ashton Gillotte of Louisville, another premier pass rusher with 11.0 sacks from 2023, is one of two players back from last year’s All-ACC First Team along Virginia safety Jonas Sanker. Miami linebacker Francisco Mauigoa tied for ninth nationally with 1.4 TFL’s per game in 2023. Clemson defensive end Peter Woods is the only member from last season’s FWAA Freshman All-America team.
Among other leaders, Boise State defensive end Ahmed Hassanein was sixth nationally last season with 12.5 total sacks and Miami (Ohio) linebacker Matt Salopek was 12th in the FBS with 143 tackles last season.
By position, the list includes 22 linebackers, 16 defensive ends, 16 safeties, 12 defensive tackles and nine cornerbacks.
Players may be added or removed from the watch list during the course of the season. As in previous years, the FWAA will announce a National Defensive Player of the Week each Tuesday this season. If not already on the watch list, each week’s honored player will be added at that time.
Following is the complete 2024 Bronko Nagurski Trophy Preseason Watch List
| 2024 BRONKO NAGURSKI PRESEASON WATCH LIST (75) | ||
| DT Bear Alexander, USC | LB Anthony Hill, Texas | LB Harold Perkins, LSU |
| S Jahdae Barron, Texas | S Maxen Hook, Toledo | LB Colin Ramos, Navy |
| LB Jeffrey Bassa, Oregon | S Jack Howell, Colorado State | CB Shavon Revel, East Carolina |
| DE Tyler Batty, BYU | DT Lee Hunter, UCF | DE Kaimon Rucker, North Carolina |
| LB CJ Bazile, Liberty | CB Travis Hunter, Colorado | LB Matt Salopek, Miami (Ohio) |
| S Billy Bowman, Oklahoma | DE Landon Jackson, Arkansas | S Jonas Sanker, Virginia |
| CB Cobee Bryant, Kansas | LB Nick Jackson, Iowa | DE Nic Scourton, Texas A&M |
| CB Denzel Burke, Ohio State | DT Patrick Jenkins, Tulane | S Malaki Starks, Georgia |
| DE Abdul Carter, Penn State | LB Nate Johnson, App State | LB Danny Stutsman, Oklahoma |
| CB Sebastian Castro, Iowa | CB Will Johnson, Michigan | DT Junior Tafuna, Utah |
| S Jeremiah Cooper, Iowa State | S Ike Larsen, Utah State | S Dillon Thieneman, Purdue |
| DT Dontay Corleone, Cincinnati | LB Deontae Lawson, Alabama | DE JT Tuimoloau, Ohio State |
| DT Howard Cross III, Notre Dame | LB Jacob Manu, Arizona | DE Shemar Turner, Texas A&M |
| CB Tacario Davis, Arizona | LB Chandler Martin, Memphis | S Jaden Voisin, South Alabama |
| S Caleb Downs, Ohio State | LB Nick Martin, Oklahoma State | DT Deone Walker, Kentucky |
| DE Joe Evans, UTSA | LB Francisco Mauigoa, Miami | DE Johnny Walker, Missouri |
| DT Joshua Farmer, Florida State | LB Smael Mondon, Georgia | LB Marques Watson-Trent, Georgia Southern |
| S Beau Freyler, Iowa State | S Malachi Moore, Alabama | S Xavier Watts, Notre Dame |
| DE Ashton Gillotte, Louisville | LB Xander Mueller, Northwestern | DE Maurice Westmoreland, UTEP |
| DT Mason Graham, Michigan | CB Jabbar Muhammad, Oregon | LB Debo Williams, South Carolina |
| S Brylan Green, Liberty | DT Walter Nolen, Ole Miss | DE Mykel Williams, Georgia |
| CB Maxwell Hairston, Kentucky | DE CJ Nunnally IV, Akron | DT Tyleik Williams, Ohio State |
| DE Ahmed Hassanein, Boise State | LB Collin Oliver, Oklahoma State | S Hunter Wohler, Wisconsin |
| LB Jason Henderson, Old Dominion | DE James Pearce, Tennessee | LB Jackson Woodard, UNLV |
| LB Jay Higgins, Iowa | DT Aeneas Peeples, Virginia Tech (TR Duke) | DE Peter Woods, Clemson |
The FWAA All-America Committee, after voting input from the association’s full membership, selects a 26-man All-America Team and eventually the Nagurski Trophy finalists. The Bronko Nagurski Trophy winner will be chosen from the five finalists named in November. Committee members, by individual ballot, select the winner they regard as the best defensive player in college football.
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. Founded in 1997, the NCFAA includes college football’s most prestigious awards and its 24 awards have honored more than 900 recipients dating back to 1935. This season, 12 NCFAA awards will honor national players of the week each Tuesday.
Sixteen NCFAA members are unveiling preseason watch lists over a 12-day period as the association spearheads a coordinated effort to promote each award’s preseason candidates. Following is the remaining 2024 preseason watch list calendar:
Wed., July 31: Paycom Jim Thorpe Award
Thu., Aug. 1: Paul Hornung Award/Allstate Wuerffel Trophy
Fri., Aug. 2: Lou Groza Award/Ray Guy Award
Mon., Aug. 5: Walter Camp Award
Tue., Aug. 6: Doak Walker Award
Wed., Aug. 7: Biletnikoff Award
Thu., Aug. 8: Davey O’Brien Award
Fri., Aug. 9: Mackey Award/Rimington Trophy
Mon., Aug. 12: Bednarik Award
Tue., Aug. 13: Butkus Award
For more information about the NCFAA and its award programs, visit NCFAA.org or follow on Twitter at @NCFAA.
The Charlotte Touchdown Club is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization founded in 1990 for the purpose of promoting high school, collegiate, and professional football in the Charlotte, North Carolina region. Since its inception, the club has grown as well as diversified boasting a sponsor team of more than (80) companies. The Club’s activities and services focus community attention on the outstanding Citizenship, Scholarship, Sportsmanship, and Leadership of area athletes and coaches. Through individual and corporate support, more than $3,000,000 has been raised and donated to benefit the Touchdown Club’s scholarship efforts.
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Founded in 1941, the Football Writers Association of America consists of 1,300 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.