October 16, 2024

Arizona State’s McCullough Is Bronko Nagurski Trophy National Defensive Player of the Week

DALLAS (FWAA) – Arizona State linebacker Caleb McCullough finished with a career-high 12 tackles and impacted the Sun Devils’ 27-19 win over No. 16 Utah with two interceptions last Friday. For keying ASU’s first win over a ranked opponent since 2019, McCullough earned the Bronko Nagurski National Defensive Player of the Week honor for games played the weekend of Oct. 12, as selected by the Football Writers Association of America.

Each week during the regular season, the FWAA has selected a Bronko Nagurski National Defensive Player of the Week since 2001. The FWAA and the Charlotte Touchdown Club will announce finalists for the 2024 Bronko Nagurski Trophy on Nov. 20. The national defensive player of the year will be chosen from those finalists who are part of the 2024 FWAA All-America Team and presented with the trophy at the Bronko Nagurski Awards Banquet presented by Coca-Cola Consolidated on Dec. 9 at the Charlotte Convention Center. Missouri head coach Eliah Drinkwitz is slated as the keynote speaker, West Virginia’s Darryl Talley from the Class of 1982 will be presented the Bronko Nagurski Legends Award courtesy of the Hertwig Family Foundation and the Defender of the Nation Award winner will be announced October 24th courtesy of Capital Group of Companies.

Players may be added or removed from the Bronko Nagurski Trophy watch list during the season. If a player isn’t already on the preseason watch list – including McCullough this week – each week’s honored player is added at that time.

McCullough, a 6-2 redshirt senior from Oxnard, Calif., was the fourth-highest graded linebacker and eighth-highest overall defensive player nationally for the week by PFF. Six of his 12 tackles were solos and he added 1.5 tackles for loss. He is the first ASU defender to grab two picks in the same game since 2021 as ASU improved to 5-1 for the first time – officially – since 2019 and snapped Utah’s four-game win streak in the series.

The two interceptions couldn’t have come at a better time, as they both ended promising Utah drives. The first pick came at the goal line on a first down play from the ASU 19 in the second quarter, McCullough’s first interception since the 2020 season. The second pick sealed the ASU victory with 1:44 left in the game, allowing the Sun Devils to run out the clock. McCullough’s picks were two of ASU’s three interceptions in the game, the team’s highest single-game count in three seasons.

McCullough’s individual stat line was timely late and prompted another key defensive number. Utah was 7-for-12 on third-down conversions through three quarters, but McCullough’s interception helped ASU hold the Utes to 0-for-3 on third down and 0-1 on fourth in the final quarter.

Arizona State looks to keep its momentum going on the road this week, traveling to Cincinnati for a noon ET kickoff Saturday on ESPN+.

The FWAA All-America Committee, after voting input from the association’s full membership, selects a 26-man All-America Team and eventually the Bronko Nagurski Trophy finalists. The Bronko Nagurski Trophy winner will be chosen from the finalists named in November. Committee members, by individual ballot, select the winner they regard as the best defensive player in college football.

The FWAA has chosen a National Defensive Player of the Year since 1993. In 1995, the FWAA named the award in honor of the legendary two-way player from the University of Minnesota. Nagurski dominated college football, then became a star for professional football’s Chicago Bears in the 1930s. Bronislaw “Bronko” Nagurski is a charter member of both the College Football and Pro Football Halls of Fame.

The Bronko Nagurski Trophy is a member of the National College Football Awards Association. Founded in 1997, the NCFAA includes college football’s most prestigious awards and its 24 awards have honored more than 900 recipients dating back to 1935. This season, 13 NCFAA awards will honor national players of the week each Tuesday. For more information about the NCFAA and its award programs, visit NCFAA.org or follow on X at @NCFAA.

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.

Coca-Cola Consolidated is the largest Coca-Cola bottler in the United States. Our purpose is to honor God in all we do, to serve others, to pursue excellence and to grow profitably. For over 121 years, we have been deeply committed to the consumers, customers and communities we serve and passionate about the broad portfolio of beverages and services we offer. We make, sell and distribute beverages of The Coca-Cola Company and other partner companies in more than 300 brands and flavors across 14 states and the District of Columbia, to approximately 60 million consumers. Headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., Coca-Cola Consolidated is traded on The Nasdaq Global Select Market under the symbol “COKE”. More information about the Company is available at cokeconsolidated.com. Follow Coca-Cola Consolidated on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn.

Founded in 1941, the Football Writers Association of America consists of 1,300 men and women who cover college football. The membership includes journalists, broadcasters and publicists, as well as key executives in all the areas that involve the game. The FWAA works to govern areas that include game-day operations, major awards and its annual All-America team. For more information about the FWAA and its award programs, contact Steve Richardson at tiger@fwaa.com.

CHARLOTTE TOUCHDOWN CLUB
Where Citizenship, Scholarship, Sportsmanship and Leadership are Honored