By Danielle Daniels

2024 BRONKO NAGURSKI TROPHY WATCH LIST RELEASE

DALLAS, Texas – The Football Writers Association of America released its 2024 Bronko Nagurski Trophy Watch List today, including University of Akron senior defensive lineman CJ Nullally IV (Douglasville, Ga.).

The FWAA selected 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 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.

Nunnally earned First-Team All-Mid-American Conference accolades a season ago after playing in all 12 games for the Zips. Nunnally finished regular season play ranked second in the MAC in tackles for loss (15.5) for a total of 69 yards of loss, posting 10.5 TFL in league play. In addition, he ranked fifth in the MAC with seven sacks for 44 yards of loss and four sacks coming in conference games.

On the national landscape, Nunnally ranked 18th overall in tackles for loss (1.3 per game) and 44th in sacks (0.58 per game). He led Akron in both categories, ranking fourth on the team in total tackles (65), including a third-best 35 solo takedowns. He added eight QB hurries, two pass break-ups and one forced fumble. Nunnally registered a season-best three tackles for loss and two sacks against Morgan State and Buffalo.

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.

COURTESY AKRON ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS