COLLEGE STATION — Texas A&M football’s Tyrel Dodson and Landis Durham were named to the Bronko Naguski Trophy Watch List, the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) announced Tuesday. The Nagurski Trophy is given annually to the nation’s best defensive player.
Dodson led the Aggies with 105 tackles last season and recorded 11.0 tackles for loss including 5.5 sacks. The Franklin, Tenn., native broke up six passes, hurried the QB four times and had three interceptions in his sophomore campaign. In the season opener at UCLA, Dodson had nine tackles, a sack and three pass breakups and against Louisiana-Lafayette, he returned an interception 40 yards for a touchdown. Dodson set a career high with 16 tackles versus Alabama, amassing 10 or more tackles in five games. Against Florida, he totaled 11 tackles and sealed the win with an interception with 52 seconds left in the game.
Durham tied for the league lead with 10.5 sacks and was second on the team in tackles for loss at 12. The Plano, Texas, native recorded seven sacks against SEC opponents, which tied for third in the conference and was a half sack behind the league leader. The senior was named the SEC Defensive Lineman of the Week on October 2 after recording five tackles, two sacks and a QB hurry against Arkansas. In the Belk Bowl against Wake Forest, Durham capped off the season with two sacks and six tackles.
Players may be added or removed from the watch list during the course of the season. As in previous seasons, the FWAA will announce a National Defensive Player of the Week each Tuesday throughout the season. If not already on the watch list, each week’s honored player will be added at that time. The FWAA and the Charlotte Touchdown Club will announce five finalists for the 2018 Bronko Nagurski Trophy on November 14.
The Bronko Nagurski Trophy winner will be chosen from those five finalists. 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. Committee members, by individual ballot, select the winner they regard as the best defensive player in college football.
The annual Bronko Nagurski Trophy Banquet, presented by ACN, will be held on December 3 at the Charlotte Convention Center.
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 college football’s most prestigious awards. Founded in 1997, the NCFAA and its 23 awards now boast over 800 recipients, dating to 1935. Visit www.ncfaa.org to learn more about our story.
Story courtesy of Texas A&M Athletics