YPSILANTI, Mich. — Eastern Michigan University senior middle linebacker Daniel Holtzclaw (Enid, Ok.-Enid) has been selected to the Bronco Nagurski Trophy watch list for the 2008 season. He was named to the Rotary Lombardi Award preliminary watch list earlier this spring.
The Football Writers Association of America selects the players for the Bronco Nagurski Trophy, which is awarded to the best defensive player in college football and sponsored by the Charlotte Touchdown Club. The FWAA All-America Committee selects the Bronko Nagurski Trophy winner from the association's 11-man All-America defensive team in November. The watch list was developed by the FWAA All-America committee with the help of the schools and conferences.
The Charlotte Touchdown Club will hold the 2008 banquet on Sunday, Dec. 7, at the Westin Hotel in Charlotte. For the eighth straight season, the FWAA will also pick a Bronko Nagurski Defensive Player of the Week beginning with games on Aug. 30 and running through the middle of November. And a Bronko Nagurski Legends Award winner will also be selected from the FWAA's 1967 All-America team.
The Bronko Nagurski Trophy has been presented since 1993 and is awarded in memory of the legendary Nagurski, a former All-America lineman at Minnesota in 1927-29 and a star for professional football's Chicago Bears in the 1930s.
The 6-foot-1, 246-pound Holtzclaw has started all 35 games at middle linebacker during his three-year EMU career. He has accumulated 330 tackles in his three seasons, good for 10th on the EMU career tackles list. He was a freshman All-American in 2005 and a first-team All-Mid-American Conference selection in 2007. Last year he finished third in the MAC and tied for 21st in the nation with his 125 tackles.
2008 BRONKO NAGURSKI TROPHY PRESEASON WATCH LIST
Geno Atkins, DT, Georgia
Antonio Baker, DB, Louisiana Tech
Darry Beckwith, MLB, LSU
Ted Bentler,DL, Army
Eric Berry, DB, Tennessee
Dirayl Briggs, DE, Bowling Green
Everette Brown,DL, Florida State
David Bruton, FS Notre Dame
Joe Burnett, DB, UCF
Terrill Byrd, DT, Cincinnati
Ian Campbell, DE, Kansas State
Reggie Carter, LB UCLA
Jamar Chaney, LB Mississippi State
Patrick Chung, DB, Oregon
Barry Church, S, Toledo
Antonio Coleman, DE Auburn
Emanuel Cook, SS, South Carolina
Maurice Crum, LB, Notre Dame
Jermaine Cunningham, DL, Florida
Aaron Curry, LB, Wake Forest
Brian Cushing, LB, USC
Dexter Davis, DE, Arizona State
Vontae Davis, DB, Illinois
Wil Dunbar, FS, UAB
Solomin Elimimian, LB, Hawaii
Dannell Ellerbe, LB, Georgia
Kevin Ellison, DB, USC
Auston English, DE, Oklahoma
Larry English, DE, Northern Illinois
Maurice Evans, DE, Penn State
Zack Follett, LB, California
Marcus Freeman, LB, Ohio State
Londen Fryar, DB, Western Michigan
John Gill, DT, Northwestern
DeMarcus Granger, DT, Oklahoma
Courtney Greene, S, Rutgers
Michael Hamlin, DB, Clemson
Greg Hardy, DE, Mississippi
Nic Harris, DB, Oklahoma
Victor Harris, DB, Virginia Tech
Daniel Holtzclaw, LB, Eastern Michigan
Phillip Hunt, DE, Houston
George Hypolite, DT, Colorado
Tyson Jackson, DE, LSU
Malcom Jenkins, DB, Ohio State
Peria Jerry, DT, Ole Miss
Rashad Johnson, DB, Alabama
Arthur Jones, DT, Syracuse
Jan Jorgensen, DL, BYU
Frantz Joseph, LB, Florida Atlantic
Mitch King, DT, Iowa
James Laurinaitis, LB, Ohio State
Trevard Lindley, CB, Kentucky
Sen'Derrick Marks, DT, Auburn
Rey Maualuga, LB, USC
Taylor Mays, S, USC
Albert McClellan, DE, Marshall
Scott McKillop, LB, Pittsburgh
Gerald McRath, LB, Southern Miss
Mike Mickens, CB, Cincinnati
Greg Middleton, DE, Indiana
Fili Moala, DT, USC
William Moore, S, Missouri
DJ Moore, CB, Vanderbilt
Joe Mortensen, LB, Kansas
Clayton Mullins, LB, Miami (Ohio)
Captain Munnerlyn, DB, South Carolina
Andre Neblett, DT, Temple
Troy Nolan, DB, Arizona State
Eric Norwood, DE, South Carolina
Vince Oghobaase, DT, Duke
Jeff Owens, DT, Georgia
Derek Pegues, DB, Mississippi State
Dave Philistin, LB, Maryland
Nick Reed, DE, Oregon
Myron Rolle, DB, Florida State
George Selvie, DE, South Florida
Matt Shaughnessy, DE, Wisconsin
Clint Sintim, LB, Virginia
Alphonso Smith, DB, Wake Forest
D'Anthony Smith, DT, Louisiana Tech
Clinton Snyder, LB, Stanford
Brandon Spikes, LB, Florida
Terrance Taylor, DT, Michigan
Brian Toal, LB, Boston College
Sean Weatherspoon, LB, Missouri
Kyle Wilson, CB, Boise State
DeAndre Wright, DB, New Mexico
Players may be added or deleted from the list before or during the season