Chaney, Pegues Named To Nagurski Trophy Watch List
STARKVILLE, Miss. ? The Football Writers Association of America has announced that Mississippi State seniors Jamar Chaney and Derek Pegues have been named to the Watch List for the 2008 Bronko Nagurski Trophy, awarded to the best defensive player in college football.
Chaney, a linebacker from Fort Pierce, Fla., was the Bulldogs leading tackler in 2007 with 89. He has played in all 36 games in his career, earning 26 starts. Last season, Chaney started 12 games at his middle linebacker position, earning All-Southeastern Conference recognition by the league’s coaches.
Pegues is a two-time all-SEC selection from Batesville, Miss., and has excelled both at his safety position and in the return game. He holds the Mississippi State school record with three interception returns for touchdown and ranks among the career top-10 of several Southeastern Conference kick and punt return records. Pegues has also pulled in 10 career interceptions, tied for fifth in the MSU record book.
The FWAA All-America Committee selects the Bronko Nagurski Trophy winner from the association's 11-man All-America defensive team in November. The watch list was developed by the FWAA All-America committee with the help of the schools and conferences.
The Charlotte Touchdown Club will hold the 2008 banquet on Sunday, Dec. 7, at the Westin Hotel in Charlotte. For the eighth straight season, the FWAA will also pick a Bronko Nagurski Defensive Player of the Week beginning with games on Aug. 30 and running through the middle of November. And a Bronko Nagurski Legends Award winner will also be selected from the FWAA's 1967 All-America team.
The Bronko Nagurski Trophy has been presented since 1993 and is awarded in memory of the legendary Nagurski, a former All-America lineman at Minnesota in 1927-29 and a star for professional football's Chicago Bears in the 1930s.