Kyle Kennard Named Finalist for the 2024 Bronko Nagurski Trophy

University of South Carolina Edge rusher Kyle Kennard has been named one of four finalists for the 2024 Bronko Nagurski Trophy which honors the nation’s top defensive player, the Football Writers Association of America and the Charlotte Touchdown Club announced today.

Joining Kennard as finalists are Texas defensive back Jahdae Barron, Penn State defensive end Adbul Carter, and Michigan defensive tackle Mason Graham.

The Bronko Nagurski Trophy recipient will be chosen from these four finalists. The FWAA All-America Committee selects the national defensive player of the year who is part of the 2024 FWAA All-America Team and presented the trophy at the 30th Bronko Nagurski Awards Banquet on Dec. 9 in Charlotte, N.C.

South Carolina defensive coordinator Clayton White was already blessed with eight returning defensive starters coming into 2024. Then he added Kyle Kennard on the edge of his “Flex-Nickel” defensive mix and the results have been one of the top defenses in school history. Kennard, in his first season at South Carolina after four at Georgia Tech, leads the SEC with 10.5 sacks (5th in FBS) and with 14.5 tackles for loss (4th). The 10.5 sacks are almost one-third of USC’s 35 overall sacks that are second in the SEC and third nationally, and list Carter second on Carolina’s single-season top-10 sacks list, 2.5 sacks shy of Jadeveon Clowney’s school record of 13.0. He’s currently sixth for single-season tackles for loss and has forced three fumbles.

Kennard was previously named a finalist for the Lombardi Award. He is a semifinalist for the Bednarik Award and for the Walter Camp Player of the Year.

South Carolina has not had a Bronko Nagurski Trophy winner. Its lone prior finalist was Clowney in 2012. Kennard is coached by outside linebackers and defensive ends coach Sterling Lucas.

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. For more information about the NCFAA and its award programs, visit NCFAA.org or follow on X at @NCFAA.