Breakdown: Nagurski Trophy Announces Five Finalist for 2015 Top College Football Defender

Written by Ryan Wright

Twitter: @HogManInLA

What was once a list of 88 potential candidates for the 2015 Bronko Nagurski Trophy has been narrowed down to five after the Charlotte Touchdown Club released the Football Writers Association of America’s votes on Thursday.

A long college football season offers many surprises with injuries limiting the effectiveness of 2014 Nagurski Trophy winner, Arizona linebacker Scooby Wright, and All-Big Ten defensive end Joey Bosa. With many great players to choose from, the FWAA have tabbed Clemson defensive end Shaq Lawson, Alabama linebacker Reggie Ragland, Penn State defensive end Carl Nassib, Duke safety Jeremy Cash, and Temple linebacker Tyler Matakevich as the top defenders in the nation.

Ragland (6’2”, 250) leads what is perhaps college football’s best defensive unit, especially in the front seven, with 82 tackles. The senior is not flashy per say but is always solid. Ragland also has 5.5 tackles for a loss, 2.5 sacks, five pass breakups, five passes deflected, three quarterback hurries, and two forced fumbles. The former Bob Jones High School standout (Madison, AL) was a semi-finalist for the Butkus Award and earned first-team All-SEC honors as a junior.

The nation’s No. 1 team has plenty of top performers on defense with B.J. Goodson leading the Tigers in tackles with 63 but Shaq Lawson’s 16.5 tackles for a loss, 7.5 sacks, and 40 tackles have caught the eye of the voters. The 6’3”, 270 pound, junior is having a breakout season after being a key backup in 2013 and 2014. As a freshman and sophomore the South Carolina native had 79 total tackles, 21 tackles for a loss, and 7.5 sacks.

Duke’s Jeremy Cash has been quick to clean up any mess that has landed in the Blue Devils secondary coming up with a team-high tying 88 tackles and is second in the nation with 17.5 tackles for a loss. The redshirt senior has been a defensive weapon for Duke after transferring from Ohio State with back-to-back 100-plus tackle seasons in 2013 and 2014. Despite his high production from the “Safety Strike” position, Cash was only honored as a second-team All-ACC performer in 2014 but made several publications’ second- and third-team All-American lists (Walter Camp, Football Writers Association of American, and Phil Steele).

Penn State senior defensive end Carl Nassib is a load on the outside coming in at 6’7”, and roughly 270 pounds. Nassib’s rise into the national limelight has been storybook. He came to PSU as a preferred walk-on and was a key backup in 2014 coming up with seven tackles, 3.5 tackles for a loss, and one sack in 13 games played. Nassib has helped his own cause off the field twice earning Academic All-Big Ten honors. Nassib has a nation leading 15.5 sacks covering 107 yards during his breakout senior campaign. The Pennsylvania native also leads the nation with 19.5 tackles for a loss and six fumbles forced.

One of the surprise teams of the 2015 season has been Temple but there is little surprise that Tyler Matakevich is recognized as one of the top defenders in the nation. Matakevich (6’1”, 230) is a tackling machine having notched 100 tackles every season since his true freshman campaign in 2012. The Connecticut native led FBS with an average of nine solo tackles per game in 2013 and was named an Owls team captain as a junior. The ginger warrior is four stops shy of topping the 100 tackle mark for a fourth consecutive season and has 11.5 tackles for a loss, four sacks, five interceptions, five pass breakups, and one quarterback hurry in 10 games played.

With honors comes snubs and one of the biggest snubs has to be Missouri linebacker Kentrell Brothers. Brothers has been a bright spot for an oft struggling Tigers team coming up with a nation leading 128 tackles in 10 games played thus far. Another potential snub worth mentioning is Desmond King. King is tied with Northern Illinois’ Shawun Lurry with eight picks, Lurry also has 13 passes broken up and 21 passes defended, having returned one for a touchdown. King has seven pass broken up and 15 passes defended.

The winner of the 2015 Bronko Nagurski Trophy will be announced on Dec. 7 at the Westin Hotel in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Photo credit: isportsweb.com; No. 8 Tyler Matakevich celebrates a tackle against Army.