Tulane Green Wave Defensive Lineman Named to Two Top Award Watch Lists
The Tulane Green Wave have a defensive lineman that is expected to do great things this season and he just got named to two of the award watch lists.
Patrick Jenkins is an interior defensive lineman that excels both against the run and in rushing the passer. The school announced on Tuesday that he was named to both the Bronko Nagurski Trophy and Outland Trophy watch lists.
The Outland celebrates the country's best interior lineman at the end of the year, meaning that defensive ends are not eligible. Offensive tackles, guards and centers are all also eligible to win. Recent winners include T'Vondre Sweat, Jordan Davis and Penei Sewell. Since 2014, only four winners have come from the defensive side of the ball.
"The FWAA will announce the Outland Trophy semifinalists on Nov. 20, and those players will then be paired down to three finalists on Nov. 26," said a Tulane press release. "The Outland Trophy winner is chosen from those finalists who will be part of the annual FWAA All-America Team."
Even harder to win is the Nagurski, as it looks for the best overall defensive player in the country. Recent winners for that include Will Anderson Jr. (twice), Chase Young and Bradley Chubb.
The last interior defensive lineman to win the award was Aaron Donald. Only five defensive tackles have won since the award started in 1993, meaning Jenkins would have to have an incredible season to take it home.
"The FWAA and the Charlotte Touchdown Club will announce finalists for the 2024 trophy on November 20 and the winner will be unveiled Dec. 9 at the Bronko Nagurski Awards Banquet in Charlotte, N.C," continued the release. "The SEC has 19 selections, the Big Ten has 16, the Big 12 has 12, the ACC is represented by seven, the American has five, Mountain West (4), Sun Belt (4), Conference USA (3), Mid-American (3) and Independents (2),"
Getting named to the watch list is an honor in itself, as only four other defensive players from the American were considered.
What Jenkins does have going for him is that he is an impressive pass rusher, adding 8.5 sacks over the last two seasons with 20.5 total tackles for a loss. He has a long way to go to catch Donald's 11 sack season in 2013, but it's not an impossible task.
DYLAN SANDERS