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Senior defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh picked up his first major piece of hardware as he was named the winner of the Bronko Nagurski Trophy as the nation's best defensive player. The annual award was presented Monday night by the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) and the Charlotte Touchdown Club at a banquet in Charlotte, N.C.
Suh was chosen from a field of finalists that also included Pat Angerer (LB, Iowa), Eric Berry (DB, Tennessee), Terrence Cody (DL, Alabama) and Jerry Hughes (DE, TCU). The 6-4, 300-pound Suh became the first Cornhusker to win the award as the nation's best defensive player and is the first Blackshirt to earn a major honor since Grant Wistrom was named the Lombardi Award winner in 1997. Suh is also a finalist for the Rotary Lombardi Award as well as the Outland Trophy, Bednarik Award, Lott Trophy and the Walter Camp National Player of the Year Award.
Already named a first-team All-American this year by the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA), Suh has been a dominant force from his interior defensive lineman position. His presence has been noticed so much that on Monday, Suh was also named a finalist for the Heisman Trophy, the first Blackshirt to be a finalist since middle guard Rich Glover finished third in the Heisman voting in 1972.
Suh has blown over opponents all year long and heads into the bowl season leading the team in tackles for the second straight season. He has recorded 82 tackles this year, including 50 solo stops while wreaking havoc in opponents' backfields. Suh has recorded 12.0 sacks and 23 tackles for loss, both marks that rank among the top three in Nebraska single-season history. His 10 pass breakups this year are a position season record and he has added 26 quarterback hurries, an interception, a forced fumble and three blocked kicks.
Suh is the fifth player from the Big 12 Conference to win the award since 2001. He joins last year's award winner Brian Orakpo (Texas), along with Derrick Johnson (Texas, 2004), Derrick Strait (Oklahoma, 2003) and Roy Williams (Texas, 2001) in representing the league.
Presented since 1993, the Nagurski Trophy is awarded in memory of the legendary All-America lineman at Minnesota from 1927 to 1929. He was also a star for the Chicago Bears in the 1930s.