Two Buckeyes, senior defensive lineman Cameron Heyward and senior linebacker Ross Homan, have been named to the 2010 Bronko Nagurski Trophy Watch List, the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) announced Monday. The trophy is awarded annually to the nation’s best defensive player by the FWAA and the Charlotte Touchdown Club.
Heyward, who was a second team All-Big Ten pick last season, also has been named to the 2010 Preseason Playboy All-America Team and the Lombardi and Lott Trophy watch lists, among others.
He led the Buckeyes with 6.5 sacks and had 10 TFL last year. Homan, who led the Buckeyes with 108 tackles and tied for the team lead with five interceptions, also joined Heyward on the Lombardi and Lott lists and was a second team All-Big Ten pick in 2009.
Players may be added or deleted to the Bronko Nagurski Watch List during the year. Each week during the 2010 season, the FWAA will choose a Defensive Player of the Week. If that player is not on the Watch List, he automatically will be added.
The FWAA and the Charlotte Touchdown Club will announce five finalists for the Bronko Nagurski Trophy on November 18. The annual Bronko Nagurski Trophy Banquet will be on Dec. 6 at the Westin Hotel in Charlotte, N.C.
Three Ohio State offensive linemen have been named to the 2010 Outland Trophy Watch List, the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) announced Monday. The list includes 63 of the nation’s top offensive and defensive tackles, offensive guards and centers.
Senior guard Justin Boren, junior center Michael Brewster and senior guard/tackle Bryant Browning are the three Buckeyes named to the list. Boren, who also was named to the Lombardi Award watch list, was a first-team All-Big Ten pick by the media in 2009.
The Outland Trophy, presented annually since 1946, is the third oldest award in major college football. The Outland Trophy is named after the late John Outland, an All-America lineman at Penn and Kansas at the turn of the century. The FWAA All-America Committee will select three finalists in late November and eventually the overall winner. The 2010 winner will be announced on The Home Depot ESPNU College Football Awards Show on Dec. 9.
The Outland Trophy presentation banquet, sponsored by the Greater Omaha Sports Committee, will be on Jan. 13 in Omaha, Neb.