Two Clemson Linemen Garner Preseason Accolades

The Football Writers Association of America announced today that Clemson defensive lineman Peter Woods has been named as one of 75 candidates on the watch list for the Bronko Nagurski Trophy, presented annually to the national defensive player of the year.

The Football Writers Association of America also announced today that Clemson offensive lineman Blake Miller has been named as one of 75 candidates on the watch list for the Outland Trophy, presented annually to the nation’s top interior lineman on offense or defense.

Additional information from the FWAA on the Outland Trophy and Nagurski Trophy Watch Lists is included below:

DALLAS (FWAA) – The Football Writers Association of America released its 2024 Bronko Nagurski Trophy Watch List today, selecting 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 watch list roster includes last year’s winner, Xavier Watts of Notre Dame, plus five other players returning from last season’s FWAA All-America team. Two of the top three tacklers from last season, both All-Americans, are back in the mix along with three of the top five interception leaders and six secondary players who had at least five interceptions last 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.

Watts, who tied for the national lead with seven interceptions in 2023 as a first-team All-America safety, headlines the All-Americans as the returning honoree. Georgia safety Malaki Starks, a Bronko Nagurski Trophy finalist last season, is also back from the first team following a season where he was Georgia’s fourth-leading tackler and had seven PBU’s. Iowa linebacker Jay Higgins, third in the nation in tackles per game at 12.2, was also on the first team last season.

Two two-time All-Americans top the list as well. Jason Henderson, a two-time All-America linebacker at Old Dominion, is featured returning from the second team along with two-time defensive tackle Howard Cross III of Notre Dame. Liberty safety Brylan Green is the other returning All-American. There are 22 linebackers on the watch list, the most at any position, with Higgins and Henderson leading the way. The ODU senior led the nation in tackles per game last year at 14.2 and is 142 total tackles away from the NCAA record as he heads into the 2024 season. Green, who tied for sixth in the nation with five interceptions last year, is one of 16 safeties, tied for second-most at any position.

Ohio State is tops among all programs with four selections that include one of the offseason’s top transfer players in Caleb Downs, coming in from Alabama. Downs, a safety, anchors the Buckeyes’ secondary along with cornerback Denzel Burke. Defensive end JT Tuimoloau and defensive tackle Tyleik Williams are Ohio State’s lineman from the list. Iowa ties Georgia for second among the teams with three selections – Higgins and fellow linebacker Nick Jackson along with cornerback Sebastian Castro. Besides Starks, Georgia has linebacker Smael Mondon and defensive end Mykel Williams represented.

Defending national champion Michigan has defensive tackle Mason Graham on the list to go with cornerback Will Johnson. There are nine Big Ten schools represented within the 16-man contingent from that conference. Ohio State, Iowa, Michigan and Oregon (two) have 11 of the 16 spots. Other standouts are Dillon Thiernemann of Purdue, who tied for second nationally with six interceptions last year, and Wisconsin linebacker Hunter Wohler, tied for 21st in the FBS with 9.2 tackles per game.

Georgia’s three leads the SEC’s conference-leading 19 overall selections buoyed by two apiece from Alabama, Kentucky, Oklahoma, Texas and Texas A&M. The SEC’s new members blend right in with two apiece on the list. Oklahoma safety Billy Bowman tied Thienemann with six picks in 2023 and joins Sooners playmaking linebacker Danny Stutsman, who was 15th in tackles for loss last season averaging 1.3 per game. Texas sports safety Jahdae Barron and linebacker Anthony Hill. Twelve different SEC schools have a player on the list, including three of the nation’s best pass rushers on the ends in Texas A&M defensive end and Purdue transfer Nick Scourton (0.91 sacks/gm, 6th in FBS), Tennessee’s James Pearce (10.0 total sacks, 11th in FBS) and LSU linebacker Harold Perkins.

As a list by conference, beyond the SEC and Big Ten are a dozen players from the Big 12. Oklahoma State’s premier linebacking pair of Nick Martin and Collin Oliver are on the list – Martin was 15th nationally in total tackles last year with 10.0 per game – and Big 12 newcomer Arizona also has a duo in cornerback Tacario Davis and linebacker Jacob Manu. Much-heralded cornerback Travis Hunter of Colorado makes the list, and Iowa State lists both its safeties in Jeremiah Cooper, who had five picks last year, and Beau Freyler. Utah’s Junior Tafuna is regarded as one of the country’s best defensive tackles.

The ACC has seven players represented followed by the American (5), Mountain West (4), Sun Belt (4), Conference USA (3), Mid-American (3), Independents (2). There is not a selection from the two Pac-12 programs.

Ashton Gillotte of Louisville, another premier pass rusher with 11.0 sacks from 2023, is one of two players back from last year’s All-ACC First Team along Virginia safety Jonas Sanker. Miami linebacker Francisco Mauigoa tied for ninth nationally with 1.4 TFL’s per game in 2023. Clemson defensive end Peter Woods is the only member from last season’s FWAA Freshman All-America team.

Among other leaders, Boise State defensive end Ahmed Hassanein was sixth nationally last season with 12.5 total sacks and Miami (Ohio) linebacker Matt Salopek was 12th in the FBS with 143 tackles last season.

By position, the list includes 22 linebackers, 16 defensive ends, 16 safeties, 12 defensive tackles and nine cornerbacks.

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.

Following is the complete 2024 Bronko Nagurski Trophy Preseason Watch List:

DT Bear Alexander, USC
S Jahdae Barron, Texas
LB Jeffrey Bassa, Oregon
DE Tyler Batty, BYU
LB CJ Bazile, Liberty
S Billy Bowman, Oklahoma
CB Cobee Bryant, Kansas
CB Denzel Burke, Ohio State
DE Abdul Carter, Penn State
CB Sebastian Castro, Iowa
S Jeremiah Cooper, Iowa State
DT Dontay Corleone, Cincinnati
DT Howard Cross III, Notre Dame
CB Tacario Davis, Arizona
S Caleb Downs, Ohio State
DE Joe Evans, UTSA
DT Joshua Farmer, Florida State
S Beau Freyler, Iowa State
DE Ashton Gillotte, Louisville
DT Mason Graham, Michigan
S Brylan Green, Liberty
CB Maxwell Hairston, Kentucky
DE Ahmed Hassanein, Boise State
LB Jason Henderson, Old Dominion
LB Jay Higgins, Iowa
LB Anthony Hill, Texas
S Maxen Hook, Toledo
S Jack Howell, Colorado State
DT Lee Hunter, UCF
CB Travis Hunter, Colorado
DE Landon Jackson, Arkansas
LB Nick Jackson, Iowa
DT Patrick Jenkins, Tulane
LB Nate Johnson, App State
CB Will Johnson, Michigan
S Ike Larsen, Utah State
LB Deontae Lawson, Alabama
LB Jacob Manu, Arizona
LB Chandler Martin, Memphis
LB Nick Martin, Oklahoma State
LB Francisco Mauigoa, Miami
LB Smael Mondon, Georgia
S Malachi Moore, Alabama
LB Xander Mueller, Northwestern
CB Jabbar Muhammad, Oregon
DT Walter Nolen, Ole Miss
DE CJ Nunnally IV, Akron
LB Collin Oliver, Oklahoma State
DE James Pearce, Tennessee
DT Aeneas Peeples, Virginia Tech
LB Harold Perkins, LSU
LB Colin Ramos, Navy
CB Shavon Revel, East Carolina
DE Kaimon Rucker, North Carolina
LB Matt Salopek, Miami (Ohio)
S Jonas Sanker, Virginia
DE Nick Scourton, Texas A&M
S Malaki Starks, Georgia
LB Danny Stutsman, Oklahoma
DT Junior Tafuna, Utah
S Dillon Thieneman, Purdue
DE JT Tuimoloau, Ohio State
DE Shemar Turner, Texas A&M
S Jaden Voisin, South Alabama
DT Deone Walker, Kentucky
DE Johnny Walker, Missouri
LB Marques Watson-Trent, Georgia Southern
S Xavier Watts, Notre Dame
DE Maurice Westmoreland, UTEP
LB Debo Williams, South Carolina
DE Mykel Williams, Georgia
DT Tyleik Williams, Ohio State
S Hunter Wohler, Wisconsin
LB Jackson Woodard, UNLV
DL Peter Woods, Clemson

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.

Sixteen NCFAA members are unveiling preseason watch lists over a 12-day period as the association spearheads a coordinated effort to promote each award’s preseason candidates. Following is the remaining 2024 preseason watch list calendar:

Wed., July 31: Paycom Jim Thorpe Award
Thu., Aug. 1: Paul Hornung Award/Allstate Wuerffel Trophy
Fri., Aug. 2: Lou Groza Award/Ray Guy Award

Mon., Aug. 5: Walter Camp Award
Tue., Aug. 6: Doak Walker Award
Wed., Aug. 7: Biletnikoff Award
Thu., Aug. 8: Davey O’Brien Award
Fri., Aug. 9: Mackey Award/Rimington Trophy

Mon., Aug. 12: Bednarik Award
Tue., Aug. 13: Butkus Award

For more information about the NCFAA and its award programs, visit NCFAA.org or follow on Twitter at @NCFAA.

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Founded in 1941, the Football Writers Association of America consists of 1,300 men and women who cover college football. The membership includes journalists, broadcasters and publicists, as well as key executives in all the areas that involve the game. The FWAA works to govern areas that include game-day operations, major awards and its annual All-America team. For more information about the FWAA and its award programs, contact Steve Richardson at tiger@fwaa.com.

DALLAS (FWAA) – The Football Writers Association of America has announced the preseason watch list for the 2024 Outland Trophy, recognizing 75 returning standout interior linemen representing all 10 Division I FBS conferences and independents. The 2024 season will close with the award’s 79th winner being feted in Omaha and the watch list offers a talented field of players alongside one returning FWAA All-American.

The recipient of the 2024 Outland Trophy will be announced on The Home Depot College Football Awards, live on ESPN on Dec. 12, 2024. The official presentation to the winner will be made at the Outland Trophy Awards Dinner sponsored by Werner Enterprises and produced by the Greater Omaha Sports Committee in Omaha, Neb., on Jan. 22, 2025.

Howard Cross III of Notre Dame, a two-time FWAA All-American at defensive tackle, is the lone returning All-American on the preseason watch list. Notre Dame was 26th nationally at stopping the run last season giving up only 119.0 rushing yards per game with Cross in the middle. None of last year’s Outland Trophy semifinalists return this season.

Georgia has the most representatives with four, one of them a fellow defensive tackle in Nazir Stackhouse. The Bulldogs were 18th against the run last year giving up 113.6 ypg. The three others from Georgia are off the offensive front – guards Dylan Fairchild and Tate Ratledge alongside offensive tackle Xavier Truss – that helped the Bulldogs list fifth in total offense last season (496.5 yards per game) and 20th among FBS teams in rushing offense (191.2 ypg). Ratledge is the only unanimous All-SEC First Team member returning from 2023.

Alabama, Ohio State and USC are next listing three players each with one defender and two from the offensive line, and 13 schools have at least one pair of players represented. The Southeastern Conference, with Kentucky, LSU and Missouri each having a pair of players, leads the conferences with 18 total players. Ohio State and USC make up almost half the Big Ten Conference’s 13-man roster spread among eight league schools. The Atlantic Coast Conference and Big 12 Conference each have nine.

Alabama center Parker Brailsford, a noted off-season transfer from last year’s College Football Playoff runner-up Washington, and guard Tyler Booker lead the Crimson Tide’s offensive line, and Tim Smith returns as an All-SEC defensive tackle. Ohio State’s Tyleik Williams just missed being an Outland Trophy semifinalist last season and plugs the Buckeyes’ defensive line. OSU’s Donovan Jackson was a unanimous first team All-Big Ten guard last season and has All-Big Ten offensive tackle Josh Fryar alongside him. USC defensive tackle Bear Alexander is one of the keys to an improved Trojans defense. The Trojans – fifth nationally in passing offense last season and 10th in total offense – take their high-powered offense into the Big Ten with two starters back on the line in center Jonah Monheim and guard Emmanuel Pregnon.

Texas, which had last year’s Outland Trophy winner in defensive tackle T’Vondre Sweat, shifts to a watch list member on offense as tackle Kelvin Banks bolsters its offense that moves into the SEC with 2023’s ninth-best total offense unit at 477.5 ypg. Other players of interest from the SEC are Tennessee center Cooper Mays, LSU offensive tackle Will Campbell and Kentucky defensive tackle Deone Walker. Banks, Mays and Campbell all earned Outland Trophy votes last season.

Defending national champion Michigan has its two outstanding defensive tackles represented with Mason Graham and Kenneth Grant. Cross is one of two players from Notre Dame along with fellow defensive tackle Rylie Mills. The Fighting Irish would likely have had a third member, but center Zeke Correll transferred to NC State and joins the ACC’s list. Florida State, undefeated in the regular season last year, has a pair of tackles on each side. Darius Washington is the only All-ACC First Team lineman returning this season and Joshua Farmer is at defensive tackle.

Oklahoma State punctuates the Big 12’s representatives with center Joe Michalski and offensive tackle Dalton Cooper, mainstays last year who helped running back Ollie Gordon II lead the nation in rushing. Cincinnati defensive tackle Dontay Corleone comes off a fine season and is one of two Bearcats players along with guard Luke Kandra. West Virginia offensive tackle Wyatt Milum is gaining preseason All-America praise.

Clay Webb of Jacksonville State earned a handful of All-America honors last season and is the headliner for the second-year FBS program and for Conference USA. UNLV, a surprise in the Mountain West last year, won’t be this year with all-conference offensive tackle Tiger Shanks and Jalen St. John on the watch list this season. Western Michigan center Jacob Gideon is the only first team All-MAC offensive lineman returning this season.

The conference breakdown is as follows. Beyond the 18 from the SEC hailing from 10 different programs, there are 13 from the Big Ten, nine from the ACC and Big 12, seven from the Mountain West, five from the American, four from Conference USA, the Mid-American and Sun Belt have three each, and the Pac-12 and Independents have two each.

There are 24 offensive tackles on this year’s list with 19 defensive tackles and 18 guards to go with 14 centers, and 57 of the 133 Football Bowl Subdivision schools are represented.

The FWAA will announce the Outland Trophy semifinalists on Nov. 20, and those players will then be paired down to three finalists announced on Nov. 26. The Outland Trophy winner is chosen from those finalists who will be part of the annual FWAA All-America Team. The FWAA All-America Committee, after voting input from the entire membership, selects a 26-man first team and eventually the three Outland finalists. Committee members, then by individual ballot, select the winner. Only interior linemen on offense or defense are eligible for the award; ends are not eligible.

Players may be added or removed from the watch list during the course of the season. For a second year now, the FWAA will announce an Outland Trophy National 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.

2024 OUTLAND TROPHY PRESEASON WATCH LIST (75)

DT Bear Alexander, USC
OT Kelvin Banks, Texas
OT Bryce Benhart, Nebraska
DT Jordan Bertagnole, Wyoming
OG Chase Bisontis, Texas A&M
OG Gabe Blair, North Texas
OG Tyler Booker, Alabama
C Parker Brailsford, Alabama
DT Brandon Brown, UTSA
OT Will Campbell, LSU
OT Kage Casey, Boise State
OT Dalton Cooper, Oklahoma State
DT Dontay Corleone, Cincinnati
OT Ajani Cornelius, Oregon
C Zeke Correll, NC State
C Eli Cox, Kentucky
DT Howard Cross III, Notre Dame
OT Alreontae Ersery, Minnesota
OT Fa’alili Fa’amoe, Washington State
OG Dylan Fairchild, Georgia
DT Joshua Farmer, Florida State
C Weston Franklin, Georgia Tech
OT Josh Fryar, Ohio State
C Jacob Gardner, Colorado State
C Jacob Gideon, Western Michigan
OG AJ Gillie, Louisiana
OG Michael Gonzalez, Louisville
DT Mason Graham, Michigan
DT Kenneth Grant, Michigan
OT Joshua Gray, Oregon State
DT B.J. Green, Colorado
OG Zane Herring, South Florida
C Branson Hickman, Oklahoma
OG Xavier Hill, Memphis
OT Reid Holskey, Miami (Ohio)
DT Lee Hunter, UCF
OG Donovan Jackson, Ohio State
DT Patrick Jenkins, Tulane
OG Cam’Ron Johnson, Missouri
OT Emery Jones, LSU
C Logan Jones, Iowa
OG Luke Kandra, Cincinnati
OG Daniel King, Troy
OG Quantavious Leslie, WKU
C Cooper Mays, Tennessee
OT Armand Membou, Missouri
C Joe Michalski, Oklahoma State
OT Blake Miller, Clemson
DT Rylie Mills, Notre Dame
OT Wyatt Milum, West Virginia
C Jonah Monheim, USC
DT Walter Nolen, Ole Miss
C Justin Osborne, SMU
OT Shiyazh Pete, New Mexico State
OG Emmanuel Pregnon, USC
OG Tate Ratledge, Georgia
OT Jalen Rivers, Miami
OT Jonah Savaiinaea, Arizona
OT Tiger Shanks, UNLV
DT Tim Smith, Alabama
OG Jalen St. John, UNLV
DT Nazir Stackhouse, Georgia
DT Junior Tafuna, Utah
OT Makilan Thomas, Arkansas State
DT Soane Toia, San Jose State
OT Ozzy Trapilo, Boston College
OT Xavier Truss, Georgia
C Mose Vavao, Fresno State
DT Deone Walker, Kentucky
OT Darius Washington, Florida State
OG Clay Webb, Jax State
C Jordan White, Liberty
DT Tyleik Williams, Ohio State
OT Alex Wollschlaeger, Bowling Green
OG Sal Wormley, Penn State

The Outland Trophy, celebrating 79 years since its founding, is the third-oldest major college football award. Created in 1946 when Dr. John Outland presented the FWAA with a financial contribution to initiate the award, the Outland Trophy has been given to the best interior lineman in college football ever since Dr. Outland, an All-American at the University of Pennsylvania in the late 1890s, eventually took up practice in Kansas City, Mo. An avid outdoorsman, Dr. Outland believed linemen did not get the credit they deserved and wanted an award to recognize them.

The Outland 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.

Sixteen NCFAA members are unveiling preseason watch lists over a two-week period as the association spearheads a coordinated effort to promote each award’s preseason candidates. Following is the remaining 2023 preseason watch list calendar:

Wed., July 31: Paycom Jim Thorpe Award
Thu., Aug. 1: Paul Hornung Award/Allstate Wuerffel Trophy
Fri., Aug. 2: Lou Groza Award/Ray Guy Award

Mon., Aug. 5: Walter Camp Award
Tue., Aug. 6: Doak Walker Award
Wed., Aug. 7: Biletnikoff Award
Thu., Aug. 8: Davey O’Brien Award
Fri., Aug. 9: Mackey Award/Rimington Trophy

Mon., Aug. 12: Bednarik Award
Tue., Aug. 13: Butkus Award

For more information about the NCFAA and its award programs, visit NCFAA.org or follow on Twitter at @NCFAA.

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Founded in 1941, the Football Writers Association of America consists of 1,300 men and women who cover college football. The membership includes journalists, broadcasters and publicists, as well as key executives in all the areas that involve the game. The FWAA works to govern areas that include game-day operations, major awards and its annual All-America team.