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Virginia Safety Jonas Sanker Named to Bronko Nagurski DPOY Watch List

Matt Newton

Jonas Sanker was one of 75 players named to the watch list for the Bronko Nagurski Trophy, presented annually to the top defensive player in college football.
Jonas Sanker was one of 75 players named to the watch list for the Bronko Nagurski Trophy, presented annually to the top defensive player in college football. / Virginia Athletics
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Virginia senior safety Jonas Sanker was one of 75 players named to the 2024 Bronko Nagurski Trophy Watch List, as announced by the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) on Tuesday. The award, which is named for Hall of Famer Bronko Nagurski, who played for the University of Minnesota and then the Chicago Bears in the 1930s, has been presented to the National Defensive Player of the Year as selected by the FWAA since 1995.

Sanker is coming off of an incredible 2023 campaign that saw him earn a First-Team All-ACC selection after leading his team in tackling with 107 stops, pass breakups with 11, and forced fumbles with three. He made at least seven tackles in 11 out of UVA's 12 games and led the Cavaliers in tackling eight times. Sanker was one of only seven players from the Atlantic Coast Conference named to the watch list for the Bronko Nagurski Trophy.

Players can be added or removed from the watch list over the course of the season and then five finalists will be announced by the FWAA and the Charlotte Touchdown Club on November 20th. The recipient of the 2024 Bronko Nagurski Trophy will be announced on December 9th.

See the full 75-player preseason watch list for the 2024 Bronko Nagurski Trophy here.

Previous recipients of the Bronko Nagurski Trophy include Charles Woodson, Terrell Suggs, Ndamukong Suh, Luke Kuechly, and Aaron Donald.

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Matt Newton
MATT NEWTON

Matt launched Virginia Cavaliers On SI in August of 2021 and has since served as the site's publisher and managing editor, covering all 23 NCAA Division I sports teams at the University of Virginia. He is from Downingtown, Pennsylvania and graduated from UVA in May of 2021.