Van Noy Named to Bronko Nagurski Trophy Preseason Watch List

DALLAS – BYU junior linebacker Kyle Van Noy has been named to the 2012 Bronko Nagurski Trophy Watch List, featuring the best and brightest of the upcoming season’s defensive players.

Van Noy led the Cougars in sacks (7.0) and tackles for loss (15.0) in 2011 to go along with his 68 total tackles. A 6-foot-3, 235-pounder from Reno, Nev., Van Noy was the only Division I player to record a statistic in each of the major defensive categories including tackle, tackle for loss, sack, quarterback hurry, pass breakup, interception, forced fumble, fumble recovery and blocked kick. He also scored the game-winning touchdown on a fumble which he forced, recovered and scooped up into end zone at Ole Miss in the 2011 season opener.

One of 84 players on the list most likely will receive the Bronko Nagurski Trophy that is awarded annually to the nation’s best defensive player by the Football Writers Association of America and the Charlotte Touchdown Club. Every NCAA Division I Bowl Subdivision conference and independents BYU and Notre Dame are represented on the list that is led by 30 standout linebackers.

The Bronko Nagurski Trophy winner is chosen from five finalists who are part of the FWAA All-America Team. The FWAA All-America Committee, after voting input from the entire membership, selects the 25- man team and eventually the Bronko Nagurski finalists. Committee members, then by individual ballot, select the winner, the best defensive player in America.

The annual Bronko Nagurski Trophy Banquet will be Dec. 3 at the Westin Hotel in Charlotte, N.C. Besides the 2012 winner being announced, the banquet will also celebrate the recipient of the Bronko Nagurski Legends Award presented by Florida East Coast Railway. Nebraska’s Larry Jacobson, an end from the FWAA’s 1971 All-American team, will be honored. Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly will be the keynote speaker at the banquet.

The Football Writers Association of America, a non-profit organization founded in 1941, consists of more than 1,300 men and women who cover college football for a living. The membership includes journalists, broadcasters and publicists, as well as key executives in all areas that involve the game. The FWAA works to govern areas that include gameday operations, major awards and its annual All-America team. For more information about the FWAA and its award programs, contact Steve Richardson at tigerfwaa@aol.com or 972-713-6198.

The Charlotte Touchdown Club is a non-profit organization founded in 1990 for the purpose of promoting high school, collegiate, and professional football in the Charlotte, N.C. region. The club’s activities and services focus community attention on the outstanding citizenship, scholarship, sportsmanship, and leadership of area athletes and coaches. For more information, contact John Rocco (704-347- 2918 or jrocco@touchdownclub.com). The official website of the Charlotte Touchdown Club is www. touchdownclub.com.

The Bronko Nagurski Trophy is a member of the National College Football Awards Association (NCFAA). The NCFAA was founded in 1997 as a coalition of the major collegiate football awards to protect, preserve and enhance the integrity, influence and prestige of the game’s predominant awards. The NCFAA encourages professionalism and the highest standards for the administration of its member awards and the selection of their candidates and recipients. For more information, visit the association’s official website, ncfaa.org.

The 2012 Bronko Nagurski Trophy Preseason Watch List