Thursday, June 8, 2006 | Football
University of Florida junior linebacker Brandon Siler (Orlando) has been named as one of the fifty-six standout players from around the country nominated for consideration in the preseason for the Bronko Nagurski Trophy as announced by the Football Writers Association of America Thursday.
Siler helped guide the Gator defense to a No. 9 ranking in the nation a season ago. He finished 2005 second on the team with 64 tackles (33 solo and 31 assisted). He led the SEC with seven fumble recoveries last year in spite of the league's offenses combining to post their lowest loss of turnovers (1.76 per game) since 1995 and second lowest total since conference expansion.
The Bronko Nagurski Trophy, awarded to the best defensive player in college football, has been a staple of the FWAA's awards since 1993. It is sponsored by the Charlotte Touchdown Club, which has held the annual awards banquet since 1995.
The 2006 banquet is set for Monday, Dec. 4, at the Westin Hotel in Charlotte, where five finalists will vie for the prize. Louisville defensive end Elvis Dumervil won the 2005 Bronko Nagurski Trophy.
The FWAA All-America Committee selects the Bronko Nagurski winner from the association's 11-man All-America defensive team in late November. Players may be added from the Bronko Nagurski Watch List during the course of the 2005 season.
For the sixth straight season, the FWAA will select Bronko Nagurski National Defensive Players of the Week, beginning with games the week of Sept. 2 and running through the middle of November. Each national player of the week will be added to the trophy's watch list throughout the season.
| 2006 BRONKO NAGURSKI TROPHY PRESEASON WATCH LIST | |||
| Player, School | Pos. | Cl. | Hometown |
| Gaines Adams, Clemson | DE | Sr. | Greenwood, S.C. |
| Rufus Alexander, Oklahoma | LB | Sr. | Baton Rouge, La. |
| Antwan Applewhite, San Diego State | DE | Jr. | Torrance, Calif. |
| Brandon Archer, Kansas State | LB | Sr. | St. Paul, Minn. |
| Baraka Atkins, Miami, Fla. | DL | Sr. | Sarasota, Fla. |
| Daniel Bazuin, Central Michigan | DE | Sr. | McBain, Mich. |
| H.B. Blades, Pittsburgh | LB | Sr. | Plantation, Fla. |
| Tommy Blake, TCU | DE | Jr. | Aransas Pass, Texas |
| Keyonvis Bouie, Florida International | LB | Sr. | Pahokee, Fla. |
| Mkristo Bruce, Washington State | DE | Sr. | Renton, Wash. |
| Nick Bunting, Tulsa | LB | Sr. | Tulsa, Okla. |
| Rob Caldwell, Navy | LB | Sr. | St. John, Ind. |
| Adam Carriker, Nebraska | DE | Sr. | Kennewick, Wash. |
| Brent Curvey, Iowa State | DL | Sr. | Houston, Texas |
| Keyunta Dawson, Texas Tech | DE | Sr. | Shreveport, La. |
| Joe Garcia, Nevada | DB | Sr. | Westminster, Calif. |
| Courtney Greene, Rutgers | DB | So. | New Rochelle, N.Y. |
| Michael Griffin, Texas | S | Sr. | Austin, Texas |
| Korey Hall, Boise State | LB | Sr. | Glenns Ferry, Idaho |
| Leon Hall, Michigan | CB | Sr. | Vista, Calif. |
| Vince Hall, Virginia Tech | LB | Jr. | Chesapeake, Va. |
| Marcus Hamilton, Virginia | CB | Sr. | Centreville, Va. |
| Will Herring, Auburn | LB | Sr. | Opelika, Ala. |
| David Herron, Michigan State | LB | Sr. | Warren, Ohio |
| Loren Howard, Arizona State | DE | Sr. | Scottsdale, Ariz. |
| Daymeion Hughes, California | CB | Sr. | Los Angles, Calif. |
| Lawrence Jackson, USC | DE | Jr. | Inglewood, Calif. |
| Cameron Jensen, BYU | LB | Sr. | Bountiful, Utah |
| Jeremy Jones, UTEP | LB | Sr. | San Jose, Calif. |
| LaRon Landry, LSU | FS | Sr. | Ama, La. |
| Marcus McCauley, Fresno State | CB | Sr. | Sacramento, Calif. |
| Kevin McLee, West Virginia | LB | Sr. | Uniontown, Pa. |
| Larry McSwain, UAB | DE | Sr. | Vigor, Ala. |
| Brandon Mebane, California | DT | Sr. | Los Angles, Calif. |
| Brandon Meriweather, Miami, Fla. | DB | Sr. | Apopka, Fla. |
| Quentin Moses, Georgia | DE | Sr. | Athens, Ga. |
| J.D. Nelson, Oregon | FS | Sr. | Mountain View, Calif. |
| Stephen Nicholas, South Florida | LB | Sr. | Jacksonville, Fla. |
| Sam Olajubutu, Arkansas | LB | Sr. | LaGrange, Ga. |
| Chase Ortiz, TCU | DE | Jr. | League City, Texas |
| Sabby Piscitelli, Oregon State | S | Sr. | Boca Raton, Fla. |
| Quinn Pitcock, Ohio State | DT | Sr. | Piqua, Ohio |
| Paul Posluszny, Penn State | LB | Sr. | Aliquippa, Pa. |
| Darrelle Revis, Pittsburgh | DB | Jr. | Aliquippa, Pa. |
| Brandon Siler, Florida | LB | Jr. | Orlando, Fla. |
| Brian Smith, Missouri | DE | Sr. | Denton, Texas |
| Aqib Talib, Kansas | CB | So. | Richardson, Texas |
| Kelly Talavou, Utah | DL | Sr. | Santa Ana, Calif. |
| Thaddaeus Washington, Colorado | LB | Sr. | Marrero, La. |
| Anthony Waters, Clemson | LB | Sr. | Lake View, S.C. |
| Eric Weddle, Utah | DB | Sr. | Alta Loma, Calif. |
| John Wendling, Wyoming | S | Sr. | Rock Springs, Wyo. |
| Eric Wicks, West Virginia | DB | Sr. | Pittsburgh, Pa. |
| Patrick Willis, Mississippi | LB | Sr. | Bruceton, Tenn. |
| LaMarr Woodley, Michigan | LB | Sr. | Saginaw, Mich. |
| Tom Zbikowski, Notre Dame | DB | Sr. | Arlington Heights, Ill. |
| Players may be added or deleted from the list before or during the season | |||
- UF -
