Northwestern University Athletics
Preseason Honors Continue to Roll In for Wildcats
7/11/2013 12:00:00 AM | Football
July 11, 2013
Nagurski Award Watch List | Outland Trophy Watch List
EVANSTON, Ill. -- As the National College Football Awards Association (NCFAA) continues its announcements of preseason watch lists for positional awards, Northwestern continues to be well-represented at the national level. On Thursday, junior center Brandon Vitabile was named a candidate for the Outland Trophy while senior defensive end Tyler Scott was placed on the watch list for the Bronko Nagurski Trophy.
Vitabile, already on the Rimington Award watch list as one of the top centers in the nation, was placed into consideration for the Outland Trophy, which for the last 67 years has honored the top down lineman on either side of the ball. One of 11 centers out of 75 linemen on the watch list, Vitabile has started 26 straight games for the Wildcats the last two seasons and in 2012 was part of an O-line that ranked No. 1 in the Big Ten in fewest sacks allowed.
Scott's selection to the watch list for the Bronko Nagurski Award, which recognizes the national defensive player of the year, comes following a junior season in which he led the Wildcats and ranked second in the Big Ten with 9.0 sacks. He was an honorable mention All-Big Ten performer and was named Northwestern's Defensive MVP, also earning Academic All-Big Ten honors and serving on the Wildcats' Leadership Council.
Northwestern head coach and Hall-of-Fame linebacker Pat Fitzgerald remains the only two-time winner in the history of the Bronko Nagurski Award, which dates to 1993. Fitzgerald took home both the Nagurski and Chuck Bednarik Awards as the nation's top defensive star in 1995 and 1996.
Members of the NCFAA -- each among the most prestigious individual awards in the nation -- are unveiling their preseason watch lists over a 12-day period in the month of July:
Mon., July 8: Bednarik Award / Maxwell Award
Tue., July 9: Mackey Award / Rimington Trophy
Wed., July 10: Lou Groza Award / Ray Guy Award
Thu., July 11: Bronko Nagurski Trophy / Outland Trophy
Fri., July 12: Jim Thorpe Award
Mon., July 15: Butkus Award / Rotary Lombardi Award
Tue., July 16: Biletnikoff Award
Wed., July 17: Davey O'Brien Award
Thu., July 18: Doak Walker Award
Fri., July 19: Walter Camp Award
Coming off a 10-win season last fall, Northwestern opens the 2013 campaign on Saturday, Aug. 31 at California and makes its debut at Ryan Field when it hosts Syracuse on Saturday, Sept. 7.
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