September 17, 2026

Defender Of The Nation Award Player Profile

UNITED STATES AIR FORCE’S BLAKE FLETCHER

United States Air Force’s Blake Fletcher 6’ 1” 230 lbs., Racine, WI Athletic Bio & Honors – Selected as Team Captain for two consecutive years – 2026 Preseason First-Team All-Mountain West – 2025 All-Colorado Team

2025: Started all 12 games … second-team all-MW selection … led the team, ranked third in the MW and 21st nationally in tackles (9.0 per game) … double figures in tackles in six games … led the team in tackles in seven games (Bucknell, Boise State, Hawaii, UNLV, Army, UConn, New Mexico) … recorded 11 tackles five times, which matches his career high … third on team in QBH with four … first Falcon with 100-plus tackles in a season (108) since Jeremy Fejedelem (104) in 2018 … his 108 tackles are most by a Falcon since Jordan Pierce had 117 in 2014 … team-best 11 tackles vs. New Mexico … eight tackles and a PBU at UConn … six tackles and a PBU at San Jose State … team-high nine tackles vs. Army … recorded 10 tackles at UNLV to lead the team, hit the 100-tackle mark for his career in the game … recorded 11 tackles at Navy … game-high 11 tackles and TFL vs. Hawaii … nine tackles and a TFL vs. Boise State … recorded team-best 11 tackles at Utah State … recorded game- and career-high 11 tackles and two QB hurries vs. Bucknell…first-career game with double figure tackles.

2024: Played in 10 games, five starts … third on team in TFL with 5.0 for 11 yards … finished season with three straight games with a TFL … career-best eight tackles and 2.0 TFL at San Diego State … five tackles and first-career INT vs. Fresno State … seven tackles at Army.

High School / Personal: Lettered four years in football … coach was his father, Brian Fletcher … three-year team captain … two-time team most valuable player … recorded 146 tackles his senior year … also lettered in track, basketball and baseball … participated in the shot put, discus, 100-meters and long jump in track … was a pitcher and catcher in baseball … class valedictorian … member of the National Honor Society … student government vice president. Son of Brian and Jenee Fletcher … has four younger siblings … majoring in management … hobbies include working out and spending time with family.

Troy Calhoun, Head Football Coach: “Blake’s a great competitor. He is a great, great fit at the Air Force Academy. He has grown in every way. As a football player, academically does quite well and as a man. You know, as a leader. I try to never, ever put a cap or a ceiling on guys’ ability to develop as a leader, and he has a ton of upside like that beyond football, too.”

The recipient of the Defender of the Nation Award will be announced on October 22^nd from one of the Nation’s (15) military academies and ROTC programs including Air Force Academy, Appalachian State University, Auburn University, The Citadel, Coast Guard Academy, Naval Academy, Norwich University, Ole Miss, South Carolina, Syracuse University, Texas A&M University, Villanova, Virginia Tech, VMI, and West Point and is based on exceptional leadership qualities on the field, in the classroom and in the community. The recipient must also exhibit a high standard of integrity by leading through example.
In conjunction with the Football Writers Association of America, the 2026 Bronko Nagurski Awards Banquet will be held on Monday, December 7^th, at the Charlotte Convention Center. In addition to honoring the Defender of the Nation Award winner, the banquet will celebrate the recipient of the Bronko Nagurski Trophy and Legends Award. University of Oklahoma’s Tony Casillas will be honored as the 2026 Legends Award recipient, and Mack Brown, Former Head Coach of UNC and Texas, is slated as the keynote speaker.

ABOUT THE CHARLOTTE TOUCHDOWN CLUB
The Charlotte Touchdown Club is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization founded in 1990 for the purpose of promoting high school, collegiate, and professional football in the Charlotte, North Carolina region. Since its inception, the club has grown as well as diversified boasting a sponsor team of more than (80) companies. The Club’s activities and services focus community attention on the outstanding Citizenship, Scholarship, Sportsmanship, and Leadership of area athletes and coaches. Through individual and corporate support, more than $3,000,000 has been raised and donated to benefit the Touchdown Club’s scholarship efforts.

ABOUT CAPITAL GROUP OF COMPANIES Rick Hughes has a successful 47-year track record in the automotive finance and insurance industry. Rick worked with publicly held NY Stock Exchange companies, setting up their F&I Programs. Rick worked with Sonic Automotive on setting up their F&I Program, with NCADA to form and market their NC Life program and industry-leading programs to increase dealer revenue. Prior to starting Capital Automotive, Rick was the Director of Business Development for one of the world’s largest automotive finance product and service companies. Rick coordinated various international field forces, presented at BSF and CEO Ninety, and personally developed hundreds of successful dealership personnel. As CEO of the Capital Companies, he created Flex-Pro, a patented program that allows an additional income stream coupled with products, insurance, and reinsurance administrative services. The Capital Companies refers to four unique companies: Capital Benefits Group—Structures custom benefit options based on your business needs, Capital Automotive—Gives dealerships the edge they need to meet and exceed their goals, Capital Processing Systems—Provides state-of-the-art products, administration, insurance and reinsurance services to complement dealership and shareholder financial goals, and Data Dot Dealer Services—Least expensive, most effective anti-theft deterrent ever created. We are a group of companies that work together to help dealers capitalize on their investments. We keep our clients in the game and moving toward the goal line through our consumer and client-centric products and administrative services.

ABOUT VETERANS BRIDGE HOME
Veterans Bridge Home connects Veterans and their families, in any state of transition, to the community. Through our network of partners, we help Veterans navigate employment, create social connections, and settle their families. We look at the whole Veteran and connect them to the resources needed to be successful and thriving leaders in our community. Veterans Bridge Home serves as an entry point for Veterans who don’t know where to turn to access support and services. Because Veterans return home to a civilian community and not to federal agencies or bureaucracies, each community must reach out and actively assist in the reintegration process alongside federal agencies such as the Veterans Administration. The Carolinas have the opportunity and privilege to help bring our nation’s warriors and their families home with the same energy and commitment that our Veterans have displayed in serving our nation. In so doing, ours will serve as a leader to inform other communities that wish to create more welcoming and livable communities for returning Veterans and their families.

PREVIOUS DEFENDER OF THE NATION AWARD RECIPIENTS
2025 Defender of The Nation Award Recipient: VMI’s Kouri Crump
2024 Defender of The Nation Award Recipient: Norwich University’s Shayne Leddy
2023 Defender of The Nation Award Recipient: U.S. Air Force Academy Kyle Johnson
2022 Defender of The Nation Award Recipient: Virginia Tech’s Dax Hollifield
2021 Defender of The Nation Award Recipient: U.S. Military Academy’s Arik Smith
2019 Defender of The Nation Award Recipient: U.S. Air Force Academy Kyle Johnson
2018 Defender of The Nation Award Recipient: U.S. Naval Academy’s Sean Williams
2017 Defender of The Nation Award Recipient: VMI’s Greg Sanders
2016 Defender of The Nation Award Recipient: U.S. Military Academy’s Andrew King

2026 DEFENDER OF THE NATION PLAYER PROFILES
• September 16: U.S. Air Force / Blake Fletcher
• September 10: Ole Miss / Will Echoles
• September 3: U.S. Naval Academy / Coleman Cauley
• October 22: Defender of the Nation Recipient Announced