DALLAS (August 1, 2023) – Washington State Edge
Brennan Jackson was named to the 2023 Bronko Nagurski Trophy Watch List, the Football Writers Association of America and Charlotte Touchdown Club announced Tuesday.
Jackson is one of 96 defensive standouts up for the award given to the nation's defensive player of the year. Fellow Edge
Ron Stone Jr. was named to the watch list prior to the 2022 season.
Last season, Jackson earned All-Pac-12 Conference second-team honors tied for fifth in the league with 12 tackles-for-loss and six sacks, made 41 tackles, forced a fumble and led the team with 45 quarterback pressures. The Temecula, Calif. native was named a William V. Campbell Trophy Semifinalist, the award given to the nation's best scholar-athlete.
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.
The FWAA and the Charlotte Touchdown Club will announce finalists for the 2023 trophy on Nov. 15 and the winner will be unveiled Dec. 4 at the Bronko Nagurski Awards Banquet in Charlotte, N.C.
