Anthony Hill, Jahdae Barron added to the Nagurski Trophy watch list
Texas linebacker Anthony Hill Jr. and defensive back Jahdae Barron were named to the Nagurski Trophy watch list, the FWAA announced on Tuesday. The Nagurski Trophy is awarded annually to the national defensive player of the year.
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Barron, a fifth-year senior with 23 starts and 41 career appearances, was recently named a second-team preseason All-SEC selection. He played in 14 games with 12 starts in 2023, often as the Star. He tallied 61 tackles, 4.5 TFL, one interception, one fumble recovery, and six pass break ups.
Hill, a sophomore, was a FWAA freshman All-American last year. He played in 14 games last year with six starts and tallied 66 tackles, 8.0 TFL, five sacks, one forced fumble, four hurries, and two PBUs.
Texas has two Nagurski Trophy winners in its history. Derrick Johnson took home the honor in 2004 and Brian Orakpo earned the distinction in 2008.
According to a release, 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.
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2024 BRONKO NAGURSKI PRESEASON WATCH LIST
| 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 (Ohio) |
| 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 |
