Michigan could have the best defensive player in college football in 2024.
The Michigan Wolverines anticipate having one of the best defenses in college football in 2024. To get there, they’ll need to be led by some elite players, and the voters for the Bronko Nagurski Award think that a few of them could reside in Ann Arbor.
Defensive tackle Mason Graham and cornerback Will Johnson were two of 75 players around the country who made to the Nagurski Award watchlist, announced on Tuesday.
The Nagurski Trophy is presented annually by the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) to the best defensive player in college football. The last time a Wolverine won the award was in 1997 when Charles Woodson was given the honor. As a conference, Big Ten schools are also somewhat absent, as former OSU defensive end Chase Young (2019) is the only winner from the Big Ten since 2010.
This award has leaned toward the front seven in the last several seasons, but the streak ended last year when Notre Dame defensive back Xavier Watts earned the honor after bringing down seven interceptions.
Of the two Wolverines listed, it feels like Johnson is the more likely to possibly win the award, but he probably needs to collect same amount of interceptions as Watts last year to be considered for the award.
Graham is also at a bit of a disadvantage positionally as well. Pitt’s Aaron Donald (2013) and Nebraska’s Ndamukong Suh (2009) are other interior defensive linemen to win the award recently. That would mean Graham would have to increase his pass-rushing game to a level we haven’t seen yet in Ann Arbor. Donald had 11 sacks and 28.5 tackles for loss in 2013 while Suh had 12 sacks and 20 tackles for loss in his award-winning year. So far, Graham has 5.5 total sacks and 10 tackles for loss in his 27 career games. He’ll need to likely double both metrics to win the award.
Only one player each season gets the honor of hoisting the Nagurski Award, and while the odds seem long, even being on the watchlist means both Johnson and Graham are among the best players in college football this season.