Nick Emmanwori Named to Bronko Nagurski Trophy Watch List

University of South Carolina sophomore safety Nick Emmanwori is one of 94 defensive standouts from 69 schools in all Division I FBS conferences plus Independents named to the 2023 Bronko Nagurski Trophy Watch List, announced today by the Football Writers Association of America.

The FWAA and the Charlotte Touchdown Club will announce finalists for the 2023 trophy on Nov. 15 and the winner will be unveiled Dec. 4 at the Bronko Nagurski Awards Banquet in Charlotte, N.C.

Emmanwori, a 6-4, 219-pounder from Irmo, S.C., was a freshman All-SEC performer and earned freshman All-America honors from several media outlets a year ago after leading the Gamecocks with 85 tackles. He was the 2022 co-Joe Morrison Award winner as the MVP of the Carolina defense and was the 2022-23 co-South Carolina Athletics Male Freshman of the Year.

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.

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.