Buffalo LB Khalil Mack, Kent State DT Roosevelt Nix and Bowling Green LB Dwayne Woods on 2012 Bronko Nagurski Trophy Watch List
DALLAS (FWAA) – The 2012 Bronko Nagurski Trophy Watch List features the best and brightest of the upcoming season's defensive players. Representing the MAC are Buffalo linebacker Khalil Mack, Kent State defensive tackle Roosevelt Nix and Bowling Green linebacker Dwayne Woods.
Mack collected 65 tackles and tied for first in the MAC with 20.5 tackles for loss, led the conference with five forced fumbles and ranked tied for seventh in the league with five and one-half sacks.
Nix added 39 tackles and ranked third in the MAC with 17 tackles for loss, tied for third in the league with three forced fumbles and ranked 12th in the conference with four and one-half sacks.
Woods led the Falcons and ranked eighth in the conference with 111 total tackles and ranked fourth in the MAC with 14 tackles for loss.
One of 84 players on the list most likely will receive the Bronko Nagurski Trophy that is awarded annually to the nation's best defensive player by the Football Writers Association of America and the Charlotte Touchdown Club. Every NCAA Division I Bowl Subdivision conference and independents BYU and Notre Dame are represented on the list that is led by 30 standout linebackers.
Players may be added or deleted from the Bronko Nagurski Watch List during the season. For the 12th consecutive season, the FWAA will choose a Bronko Nagurski National Defensive Player of the Week. If a recipient is not on the Watch List, he will be added. The FWAA and the Charlotte Touchdown Club will announce five finalists for the Bronko Nagurski Trophy on Nov. 15.
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 presented by ACN will be Dec. 3 at the Westin Hotel in Charlotte, N.C. Besides the 2012 winner being announced, the banquet will also celebrate the recipient of the Bronko Nagurski Legends Award presented by Florida East Coast Railway. Nebraska's Larry Jacobson, an end from the FWAA's 1971 All-American team, will be honored. Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly will be the keynote speaker at the banquet.