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Heading into the 2018 college football season, WalterFootball.com will debut our projections for the nation’s leaders during the fall. The All-American teams always have some surprises, and the next fall’s stars could be the headline players next April for the 2019 NFL Draft. We also will project the winners of the postseason awards that are given out to the best of college football.
The Bronko Nagurski Award is given to the best defensive player in college football. Last year’s winner was N.C. State defensive end Bradley Chubb.
Bronko Nagurski Award Winner:
Nick Bosa, DE, Ohio State The Nagurski Award has an inclination to go with linebackers and defensive linemen. Only two defensive backs have won the award this century – Oklahoma safety Roy Williams in 2001 and Oklahoma cornerback Derrick Strait in 2003. Thus, I won’t be picking any defensive backs in these three slots. It also has been 20 years since a player won it in back-to-back seasons – Northwestern’s Pat Fitzgerald -, and that trend will continue. Prior to Chubb, the last edge rusher to win the Nagurski Award was Da’Quan Bowers in 2010, thus it is risky to take an edge rusher as well. The award has gone to linebackers in four of the past seven seasons. The selection committee has avoided going to edge rushers, so superstars like Myles Garrett, Jadeveon Clowney and Joey Bosa never won the award. While this is a risky pick, perhaps the selection of Chubb was a sign that the Nagurski Award is changing its focus.
Like his older brother, Nick Bosa looks like an elite edge defender. He is fast off the edge with the ability fire by tackles to get upfield. Bosa has excellent hands with functional strength to fight off blocks, a burst to close, and puts quarterbacks down hard. In the ground game, Bosa is solid, but his pass-rush potential is what excites.
Bosa had 34 tackles, 8.5 sacks, two passes batted and one forced fumble in 2017. He was the Buckeyes’ best defensive end even though he rotated with Sam Hubbard, Tyquan Lewis and Jalyn Holmes. Bosa could explode as a junior because that trio left for the NFL and he should play a much higher volume of snaps in 2018. That could lead to him putting together a massive season and having a season similar to Bradley Chubb last year. If Bosa does that, he could definitely end up winning the Nagurski Award.
Bronko Nagurski Award Runner-Up:
Devin White, LB, LSU I had a strong inclination to pick White given the Nagurski’s inclination toward linebackers. However, White could have won it last year but the voters passed on him. It will be hard for him to duplicate last year’s massive stat line, so I have White as a runner-up.
White was perhaps the best linebacker in college football last year, and that is saying something considering Georgia’s Roquan Smith and Virginia Tech’s Tremaine Edmunds were top-25 picks in the 2018 NFL Draft. White had an excellent 2017 season in which he totaled 133 tackles with 14 tackles for a loss, 4.5 sacks, three passes broken up and one interception. White didn’t get the attention of other SEC linebackers like Smith and Rashaan Evans, but that should change this fall. Here is how one of the National scouts summarized White, “This kid could end up being similar to Ray Lewis. I’d take White over any of the linebackers this year – Smith, Evans, Edmunds.”
Bronko Nagurski Award Dark Horse:
T.J. Edwards, LB, Wisconsin Edwards is an instinctive defender who is a physical presence in the tackle box. He also is dangerous in zone coverage, consistently putting himself in position to make plays on the ball. As a junior, he recorded 81 tackles with 11 for a loss, two sacks, seven breakups and four interceptions. In 2016, Edwards had 89 tackles with three interceptions, 8.5 tackles for a loss, three sacks and two passes batted. He totaled 84 tackles with four breakups as a freshman. Edwards is a safe bet to earn a lot of postseason accolades.
Honorable Mentions: Houston DT Ed Oliver, Clemson DT Christian Wilkins, Clemson DT Dexter Lawrence, Mississippi State DT Jeff Simmons, Michigan DT Rashan Gary, Ohio State DT Dre’Mont Jones, Notre Dame DT Jerry Tillery, Florida State DT Demarcus Christmas, Missouri DT Terry Beckner, Washington DT Greg Gaines, Kansas DT Daniel Wise and Virginia Tech DT Ricky Walker.
Alabama LB Mack Wilson, USC LB Cameron Smith, Notre Dame LB Te’Von Coney, N.C. State LB Germaine Pratt and Clemson ILB Tre Lamar.
Clemson DE Clelin Ferrell, Boston College DE Zach Allen, Miami DE Joe Jackson, Mississippi State DE Montez Sweat, Oregon DE Jalen Jelks and Florida State DE Brian Burns.
2018 Preseason All-American Projections:
QB | RB | WR | TE | OT | G | C | DE | DT | OLB | ILB | CB | S | K/P
2018 Preseason Postseason Award Projections:
Thorpe Award | Lombardi Award | Biletnikoff Award | Lott IMPACT Trophy | Outland Trophy | Rimington Trophy | Mackey Award | Maxwell Award | Hendricks Award | O'Brien Award | Doak Walker Award | Bednarik Award | Nagurski Award | Hornung Award | Jet Award | Walter Camp Award | Ray Guy Award | Groza Award | Heisman Trophy |
QB | RB | WR | TE | OT | G | C | DE | DT | OLB | ILB | CB | S | K/P
2018 Preseason Postseason Award Projections:
Thorpe Award | Lombardi Award | Biletnikoff Award | Lott IMPACT Trophy | Outland Trophy | Rimington Trophy | Mackey Award | Maxwell Award | Hendricks Award | O'Brien Award | Doak Walker Award | Bednarik Award | Nagurski Award | Hornung Award | Jet Award | Walter Camp Award | Ray Guy Award | Groza Award | Heisman Trophy |
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