LB James Nachtigal Added to Nagurski Trophy Watch List
WEST POINT, N.Y. – Senior linebacker James Nachtigal was named to the Bronko Nagurski Trophy Watch List on Tuesday and the award is given to the defensive player of the year in college football.
The Football Writers Association of America chose 97 defensive standouts from 61 schools in all 10 Division I FBS conferences.
Nachtigal is one of 26 linebackers on the list and is the lone representative on the watch list from the service academies.
The senior from Fort Atkinson, Wis., lead Army in tackles last season with 103 total stops in his first season as a starter on the defense. He had double-digit stops in five games last season, including a career high 13 tackles opposite Eastern Michigan and Temple. He had a stretch of six games where he totaled 63 tackles.
Nachtial also added eight tackles for loss and five sacks.
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. The FWAA and the Charlotte Touchdown Club will announce five finalists for the 2018 Bronko Nagurski Trophy on Nov. 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.
This year's watch list includes at least four players from each of the 10 FBS conferences. The SEC (16) leads the 97-member list with the Big Ten (15) right behind. The ACC (13) and Pac-12 (12) also have double-digit representation, followed by the Big 12 (9), American Athletic and Mountain West (7), Conference USA and Independents (5), and the Mid-American and Sun Belt (4).
The list includes 27 backs, 26 linebackers, 24 ends and 20 tackles.
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