Bronko Nagurski Trophy preseason watch list: Top defensive names projected to win the award in 2024

The 2024 Bronko Nagurski Trophy preseason watch list was unveiled on Tuesday by the Football Writers Association of America. The list featured 75 defensive talents in the landscape, playing across 56 schools.

Notre Dame safety Xavier Watt claimed the award last season following an impressive season with the Fighting Irish where he led the Football Bowl Subdivision in interceptions with seven. He was also included in the list released on Monday.

Named after the former Minnesota defensive tackle, the Bronko Nagurski Trophy has been awarded annually to the best defensive player in college football since 1993. The winner is selected by the FWAA and is presented alongside the Charlotte Touchdown Club.

2024 Bronko Nagurski Trophy preseason watch list

The recently released Bronko Nagurski Trophy preseason watch list for the 2024 season had a host of top returning names in the landscape, mostly from the Power Five conferences.

The quartet of Southeastern Conference, Big Ten, Big 12 and the Atlantic Coast Conference were well represented. The two-team Pac-12, however, had no player on the long list.

The Bronko Nagurski Trophy watch list released on Tuesday also had players from Group of Five conferences like the AAC, Mountain West, Sun Belt, Conference USA and Mid-American Conference. The award will be presented to a new winner on Dec. 9.

Here’s a look at the full list of players on the Bronko Nagurski Trophy preseason watchlist:

DT Bear Alexander, USC

LB Anthony Hill, Texas

LB Harold Perkins, LSU

S Jahdae Barron, Texas

S Maxen Hook, Toledo

LB Colin Ramos, Navy

LB Jeffrey Bassa, Oregon

S Jack Howell, Colorado State

CB Shavon Revel, East Carolina

DE Tyler Batty, BYU

DT Lee Hunter, UCF

DE Kaimon Rucker, North Carolina

LB CJ Bazile, Liberty

CB Travis Hunter, Colorado

LB Matt Salopek, Miami (OH)

S Billy Bowman, Oklahoma

DE Landon Jackson, Arkansas

S Jonas Sanker, Virginia

CB Cobee Bryant, Kansas

LB Nick Jackson, Iowa

DE Nic Scourton, Texas A&M

CB Denzel Burke, Ohio State

DT Patrick Jenkins, Tulane

S Malaki Starks, Georgia

DE Abdul Carter, Penn State

LB Nate Johnson, App State

LB Danny Stutsman, Oklahoma

CB Sebastian Castro, Iowa

CB Will Johnson, Michigan

DT Junior Tafuna, Utah

S Jeremiah Cooper, Iowa State

S Ike Larsen, Utah State

S Dillon Thieneman, Purdue

DT Dontay Corleone, Cincinnati

LB Deontae Lawson, Alabama

DE JT Tuimoloau, Ohio State

DT Howard Cross III, Notre Dame

LB Jacob Manu, Arizona

DE Shemar Turner, Texas A&M

CB Tacario Davis, Arizona

LB Chandler Martin, Memphis

S Jaden Voisin, South Alabama

S Caleb Downs, Ohio State

LB Nick Martin, Oklahoma State

DT Deone Walker, Kentucky

DE Joe Evans, UTSA

LB Francisco Mauigoa, Miami

DE Johnny Walker, Missouri

DT Joshua Farmer, Florida State

LB Smael Mondon, Georgia

LB Marques Watson-Trent, Georgia Southern

S Beau Freyler, Iowa State

S Malachi Moore, Alabama

S Xavier Watts, Notre Dame

DE Ashton Gillotte, Louisville

LB Xander Mueller, Northwestern

DE Maurice Westmoreland, UTEP

DT Mason Graham, Michigan

CB Jabbar Muhammad, Oregon

LB Debo Williams, South Carolina

S Brylan Green, Liberty

DT Walter Nolen, Ole Miss

DE Mykel Williams, Georgia

CB Maxwell Hairston, Kentucky

DE CJ Nunnally IV, Akron

DT Tyleik Williams, Ohio State

DE Ahmed Hassanein, Boise State

LB Collin Oliver, Oklahoma State

S Hunter Wohler, Wisconsin

LB Jason Henderson, Old Dominion

DE James Pearce, Tennessee

LB Jackson Woodard, UNLV

LB Jay Higgins, Iowa

DT Aeneas Peeples, Virginia Tech (TR Duke)

DE Peter Woods, Clemson