Clemson's Peter Woods, Seven from the ACC on 2024 Bronko Nagurski Trophy Watch List

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (theACC.com) – The Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) released its 2024 Bronko Nagurski Trophy Watch List on Tuesday, July 30, selecting 75 defensive standouts from 56 schools in nine Division I FBS conferences plus Independents as contenders for the national defensive player of the year. Seven ACC student-athletes from seven different schools were named to the preseason watch list.

The Bronko Nagurski Trophy is presented annually to the Top Defensive Player in college football. The nominees are selected from all Division I schools and voted on by members of the FWAA. It is hosted by the Charlotte Touchdown Club in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Representing the ACC on the Nagurski Trophy Watch List are defensive tackle Joshua Farmer of Florida State, defensive end Ashton Gillotte of Louisville, linebacker Francisco Mauigoa of Miami, defensive end Kaimon Rucker of North Carolina, safety Jonas Sanker of Virginia, defensive tackle Aeneas Peebles of Virginia Tech and defensive end Peter Woods of Clemson.

By position, the list includes 22 linebackers, 16 defensive ends, 16 safeties, 12 defensive tackles and nine cornerbacks.

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.

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.

ACC Representatives on the Bronko Nagurski Trophy Watch List:

• Peter Woods, Clemson, Sophomore, DE
• Joshua Farmer, Florida State, Redshirt Junior, DT
• Ashton Gillotte, Louisville, Senior, DE
• Francisco Mauigoa, Miami, Senior, LB
• Kaimon Rucker, North Carolina, Graduate Student, DE
• Jonas Sanker, Virginia, Senior, S
• Aeneas Peebles, Virginia Tech, Graduate Student, DT

ACC Football Notes

• The ACC is the Conference of Quarterbacks, with the return of full-time starters Thomas Castellanos at Boston College, Cade Klubnik at Clemson, Grayson Loftis at Duke, Haynes King at Georgia Tech, Preston Stone at SMU, and Kyron Drones at Virginia Tech, and transfers DJ Uiagalelei at Florida State, Tyler Shough at Louisville, Cam Ward at Miami, Grayson McCall at NC State, and Kyle McCord at Syracuse among others.
• ACC had 10 quarterbacks named to the Maxwell Award preseason watch list, no other conference had more.
• ACC has the top-ranked group of quarterback transfers in 2024 by CBS Sports.
• 13 QBs in the league enter the 2024 season with over 20 career touchdown passes and 3,500 career passing yards.
• Eight quarterbacks from ACC schools are projected to start Week 1 in the 2024 NFL season — 25 percent of NFL teams.
• Since 2018, the ACC has had at least one quarterback drafted in the first round in five different drafts — the only conference to do that.
• The ACC’s non-conference schedule continues to be the most challenging in the country.
• 27 games against Power 4 opponents, including Notre Dame, the most of any conference.
• Nine non-conference games against teams ranked in the final 2023 Associated Press Top 25 Poll, the most of any conference.
• 10 non-conference games against teams in ESPN’s 2024 Way-Too-Early Top 25, the most of any conference.
• ACC Features Elite Coaching Leadership
• Six ACC head coaches were named to the 2024 Dodd Trophy Preseason Watch List, as announced by the Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Foundation and the Peach Bowl, no other conference had more.
• Two of the three active coaches to win a national title reside in the ACC - Dabo Swinney led Clemson to national titles in 2016 and 2018. North Carolina’s Mack Brown won a national title at Texas in 2005.
• The 2024 ACC Football Championship Game will kick off in primetime at 8 p.m. ET on ABC on Saturday, Dec. 7, at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina.

About the Bronko Nagurski Trophy

The Bronko Nagurski Trophy has been awarded annually since 1993 to the collegiate American football defensive player adjudged by the membership of the FWAA to be the best in all of NCAA football. The award is named for Bronko Nagurski, who played football for the University of Minnesota and Chicago Bears, and is presented by the Charlotte Touchdown Club and FWAA. 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.