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University of South Carolina edge rusher Kyle Kennard won the Bronko Nagurski Trophy this week as the nation’s top defensive football player, beating out three finalists to become the first Gamecock ever to win the coveted award.
Former No. 1 NFL draft pick Jadeveon Clowney was a 2012 finalist for the honor, which is presented annually by the Dallas, Texas-based Football Writers Association of America (FWAA). Kennard is also a finalist for the Lombardi Award – presented annually to the most outstanding lineman or linebacker in college football.
That trophy will be presented later this week…
After transferring to South Carolina from Georgia Tech, Kennard led the Gamecocks with 15.5 tackles for loss and 11.5 sacks this season. Both of those stats paced the Southeastern Conference while Kennard’s sack total ranked sixth nationally. The 6-foot-5, 254-pound native of Atlanta, Georgia also has ten quarterback pressures and three forced fumbles on his 2024 résumé.
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Clowney holds South Carolina’s single-season sack record with 13 – a mark Kennard could break during the Gamecocks’ bowl game against No. 20 Illinois on New Year’s Eve.
Kennard bested Texas defensive back Jahdae Barron, Penn State defensive end Adbul Carter, and Michigan defensive tackle Mason Graham to win the award. Of interest? All three of those players are projected as first round NFL draft picks next spring – with Carter and Graham both listed as consensus top ten selections.
The FWAA has selected a national defensive player of the year since 1993. Since 1995, the award has been presented in honor of Canadian-born Bronislau Nagurski, a former fullback for the Chicago Bears who was a charter member of both the college and professional football Halls of Fame. Nagurski was a famed two-way player at the University of Minnesota, playing fullback and defensive tackle. In fact, he earned All-American honors at both positions.
“The Bronk could star at any position on the field,” legendary sportswriter Grantland Rice once noted.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR …
Will Folks is the founding editor of the news outlet you are currently reading. Prior to founding FITSNews, he served as press secretary to the governor of South Carolina. He lives in the Midlands region of the state with his wife and eight children.
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2 comments
Nice! Well deserved!
But I bet he can’t spell Nagurski… “student-athlete”.