Max Richardson Named To Bronko Nagurski Award Watch List
Boston College linebacker Max Richardson was named to the Bronko Nagurski preseason watchlist on Tuesday. The award given out at the end of the season goes to the National Defensive Player of the Year.
Richardson comes into the 2020 season with huge expectations. A dynamic playmaker in 2019 he led the ACC in solo tackles with 72. He was named a second team All ACC member last season as well, and a first team preseason All ACC member in most publications for 2020. He withdrew from the NFL Draft this winter to return to the Eagles for his senior season with new head coach Jeff Hafley.
Per the press release:
The winner of the 2020 Bronko Nagurski Trophy presented by LendingTree as the National Defensive Player of the Year will be chosen from those five finalists. 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. Committee members, by individual ballot, select the winner they regard as the best defensive player in college football.
This year's watch list includes at least four players from all 10 FBS conferences plus three from the independents. The ACC led the conference list with 17 with the SEC (15) just behind, making up almost one-third of the list. The Pac-12 (13), Big 12 (12) and Big Ten (10) also have double-digit representation, followed by Conference USA (7), the American Athletic (6), Sun Belt (6), Mid-American (5), Mountain West (4) and Independents (3). The list includes 31 linebackers, 28 backs, 23 ends and 16 tackles.
This is the third watchlist Richardson has been named to joining the Bednarik and Butkus Award watchlists.
Former Boston College linebacker Luke Kuechly won the Nagurski Award in 2011.
Other watchlist nominees:
Max Richardson: Bednarik Award, Butkus Award
David Bailey: Doak Walker Award
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Editor and publisher of BC Bulletin. '06 graduate of Boston College, who has followed the program as long as he can remember. Has been covering the Eagles for the past nine years, giving expert analysis, recruiting news and breakdowns. Also the host of Locked on Boston College, a daily BC podcast that is part of the Locked On Podcast Network. When he is not writing or producing content on the Eagles, he can be found running, skiing, enjoying craft beers, or spending time with his family. You can follow AJ Black on Twitter @AJBlack_BC and our official site Twitter account is @BulletinBC