The Nagurski Trophy, given annually to college football's best defender, has released its 84-man, preseason watch list. From the Big 12:
Arthur Brown, LB, Kansas State
Brodrick Brown, CB, Oklahoma State
Carrington Byndom, CB, Texas
Demontre Hurst, CB, Oklahoma
Jackson Jeffcoat, DE, Texas
Tony Jefferson, S, Oklahoma
A.J. Klein, LB, Iowa State
Jake Knott, LB, Iowa State
Nigel Malone, CB, Kansas State
Stansly Maponga, DE, TCU
Alex Okafor, DE, Texas
Kenny Vaccaro, S, Texas
Tom Wort, LB, Oklahoma
That's a hefty list. My only possible additions? Quandre Diggs of Texas and maybe Shaun Lewis of Oklahoma State. Other than that, it's basically a who's who of the best defenders in the Big 12.
The league's 13 candidates are third-most among conferences, behind only the SEC (19) and the Big Ten (14).
Texas and Oklahoma are tied for the nation's most Nagurski Trophies, with two. Brian Orakpo in 2008 and Ndamukong Suh in 2009 are the last Big 12 talents to take home the hardware.
Luke Kuechly of Boston College won the award last season.
More awards watch lists:
