BATON ROUGE – LSU football tied with Alabama for the nation’s lead with five players named to the 2016 Bronko Nagurski Trophy Watch List, the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) released Friday.
Junior safety Jamal Adams, senior linebacker Kendell Beckwith, junior defensive tackle Davon Godchaux, senior defensive end Lewis Neal and senior cornerback Tre’Davious White all earned a spot on the Nagurski Trophy Watch List.
The Nagurski Trophy is presented annually to the nation’s best defensive player.
A total of 88 defensive standouts from across the nation were chosen on the watch list.
Adams earned Second-Team All-SEC recognition in 2015 after he led the team with four interceptions, finished third on the squad with 67 tackles and added 5.0 tackles for a loss and six pass breakups.
Beckwith finished second on the team in 2015 with 84 tackles as the starting Mike linebacker. He added 10.0 tackles for a loss and 3.5 sacks on the season, and he wrapped up the year with a fantastic performance in the Texas Bowl where Beckwith posted eight tackles with 4.0 tackles for a loss and 2.5 sacks in the win over Texas Tech.
Godchaux posted 6.0 sacks, good for second-most on the team, last season to go along with 9.0 tackles for a loss and four quarterback hurries. He finished the season with 41 total tackles after starting all 12 games at defensive tackle.
Neal led the team with 8.0 sacks that ties for 10th place in LSU single-season history, and he ranked sixth in the SEC in sacks in 2015. He recorded 48 tackles, 9.5 tackles for a loss, six pass breakups and eight quarterback hurries. Neal earned SEC Defensive Player of the Week honors after a fantastic performance against Florida in which he posted 10 tackles and three sacks in the victory.
White is back for his fourth year as a starting cornerback for the Tigers and his third as the punt returner. A Second-Team All-SEC selection in 2015, White led LSU with seven pass breakups a year ago and finished with 44 tackles, including 30 solo, and he returned 20 punts for 229 yards with a 69-yard touchdown return at Syracuse.
Five finalists for the Nagurski Trophy will be announced on Nov. 17, and the winner will be selected at the Bronko Nagurski Trophy Banquet on Dec. 5 at the Charlotte Convention Center in North Carolina.
2016 NCFAA Awards Preseason Watch List Calendar
Tuesday, July 5: Bednarik Award / Maxwell Award
Wednesday, July 6: Mackey Award / Rimington Trophy
Thursday, July 7: Lou Groza Award / Ray Guy Award
Friday, July 8: Bronko Nagurski Trophy / Outland Trophy
Monday, July 11: Jim Thorpe Award
Tuesday, July 12: Butkus Award / Rotary Lombardi Award
Wednesday, July 13: Biletnikoff Award / Wuerffel Trophy
Thursday, July 14: Davey O’Brien Award / Doak Walker Award
Friday, July 15: Walter Camp Award / Paul Hornung Award
2016 Bronko Nagurski Trophy Watch List
Montravius Adams, Auburn, DT
Jamal Adams, LSU, DB
Jonathan Allen, Alabama, DE
Chidobe Awuzie, Colorado, DB
Budda Baker, Washington, DB
Dante Barnett, Kansas State, DB
Derek Barnett, Tennessee, DE
Kendell Beckwith, LSU, LB
Vince Biegel, Wisconsin, LB
Quin Blanding, Virginia, DB
Ben Boulware, Clemson, LB
Richie Brown, Mississippi State, LB
Riley Bullough, Michigan State, LB
Josh Carraway, TCU, DE
Lorenzo Carter, Georgia, LB
Tony Conner, Ole Miss, DB
Zach Cunningham, Vanderbilt, LB
Jarrad Davis, Florida, LB
Hunter Dimick, Utah, DE
Ken Ekanem, Virginia Tech, DE
Devonte Fields, Louisville, DE
Salamo Fiso, Arizona State, LB
Kylie Fitts, Utah, DE
Reuben Foster, Alabama, LB
Myles Garrett, Texas A&M, DE
Davon Godchaux, LSU, DT
Daeshon Hall, Texas A&M, DE
Charles Harris, Missouri, DE
Josh Harvey-Clemons, Louisville, DB
Marquis Haynes, Ole Miss, DE
Treyvon Hester, Toledo, DT
Travin Howard, TCU, LB
Shane Huber, Massachusetts, LB
Marlon Humphrey, Alabama, DB
Adoreé Jackson, USC, DB
Eddie Jackson, Alabama
Derwin James, Florida State, DB
Malik Jefferson, Texas, LB
Josey Jewell, Iowa, LB
Sidney Jones, Washington, DB
Andrew King, Army, LB
Desmond King, Iowa, DB
Micah Kiser, Virginia, LB
Carl Lawson, Auburn, DE
Elijah Lee, Kansas State, LB
Jourdan Lewis, Michigan, DB
Tyquan Lewis, Ohio State, DE
William Likely, Maryland, DB
Lowell Lotulelei, Utah, DT
Shawun Lurry, Northern Illinois, DB
Jamal Marcus, Akron, DE
Marcus Maye, Florida, DB
Malik McDowell, Michigan State, DT
Raekwon McMillan, Ohio State
Fabian Moreau, UCLA, DB
Calvin Munson, San Diego State, LB
Lewis Neal, LSU, DE
Hardy Nickerson, Illinois, LB
Steven Parker, Oklahoma, DB
Jabrill Peppers, Michigan, LB
Jalen Reeves-Maybin, Tennessee, LB
TJ Ricks, Old Dominion, LB
Isaac Rochell, Notre Dame, DE
Ja’Von Rolland-Jones, Arkansas State, DE
Duke Shelley, Kansas State, DB
Cameron Smith, USC, LB
Weston Steelhammer, Air Force, DB
Jordan Sterns, Oklahoma State, DB
Jamar Summers, UConn, DB
Cameron Sutton, Tennessee, DB
Jalen Tabor, Florida, DB
Cordrea Tankersley, Clemson, DB
Steven Taylor, Houston, LB
Ahmad Thomas, Oklahoma, DB
Tanner Vallejo, Boise State, LB
Eddie Vanderdoes, UCLA, DT
Azeem Victor, Washington, LB
Anthony Walker Jr., Northwestern, LB
Charles Walker, Oklahoma, DE
DeMarcus Walker, Florida State, DE
Carlos Watkins, Clemson, DT
Tre’Davious White, LSU, DB
Jordan Whitehead, Pittsburgh, DB
Marcus Williams, Utah, DB
Tim Williams, Alabama, LB
Deatrich Wise Jr., Arkansas, DE
Xavier Woods, Louisiana Tech, DB
Chris Wormley, Michigan, DE