WATCH LIST: 2 Kentucky Wildcats up for Nagurski Trophy

Watch List SZN is in full swing. For each college football award, there’s a preseason watch list. Two Kentucky Wildcats are under consideration for one of the sport’s most prestigious honors.

Cornerback Maxwell Hairston and defensive lineman Deone Walker are on the Nagurski Trophy watch list. The two Kentucky Wildcats are among the 75 players under consideration for the award.

The Bronko Nagurski Award was created in 1993 by the Football Writers Association of America. It’s given each year to the best defensive player in college football and is named after one of the baddest asses to ever play the sport. I mean, come on. The guy’s name is Bronko Nagurski. With a name like that, you gotta be one tough SOB.

Nagurski was a fullback and nose tackle in the early 20th century who starred for the Minnesota Golden Gophers. He’s in the College Football and Pro Football Hall of Fame. If you’ve made it this far into the post, then I can tell you that once upon a time Nagurski had a run-in with the Roush family. My grandfather was a fullback for the Portsmouth Lions. He was assigned the tall task of blocking the Chicago Bears’ Nagurski. The ball was snapped and Tubby Roush woke up in the hospital the next day. That’s when he decided he had played enough football for one lifetime.

Well, Kentucky has its own version of Nagurski with Deone Walker. The talented Kentucky defensive lineman is intimidating once he steps off the bus and even more fearsome once he gets in a stance in the trenches. Last fall Walker tallied 7.5 sacks, 8 QB hurries, and 12.5 tackles for loss while lining up from every position on the defensive line.

Hairston created just as much havoc in the secondary. The under-recruited three-star talent from Michigan earned his first significant snaps and immediately made the most of them. He picked off an SEC-best five passes and turned two into defensive touchdowns.

Both Kentucky Wildcats were preseason All-SEC selections. Walker is a Walter Camp Preseason All-American and appeared on the Lott IMPACT Trophy preseason watch list. The two veteran defenders return to the practice fields tomorrow to prepare for the 2024 Kentucky football season.

Let's go to Work. pic.twitter.com/XPZGUjje9A

— Kentucky Football (@UKFootball) July 30, 2024

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