The Bronko Nagurski trophy is awarded to the best defensive player in college football and is presented by the Charlotte Touchdown Club. The award was established to compliment the Heisman Trophy Award which is rarely presented to a defensive player.
Created in 1993 by the Football Writers Association of America, the award honors the memory of former University of Minnesota All-American Bronko Nagurski.
Dan
Morgan, 2000Miami middle linebacker Dan Morgan became the second Hurricane defender to win the Bronko Nagurski Award. Morgan started 43 games at linebacker, the most starts by any Miami linebacker ever and the most by any Hurricanes defensive player in the history of UM football.
Morgan helped lead the Hurricanes to a 10-1 season and an invitation to the Sugar Bowl. Morgan holds the school record for career tackles with 507 and is the only player in UM history to record over 100 tackles in four consecutive seasons. He led the Hurricanes in tackles in 2000 with 123, and he ranked in the top 10 in the nation in tackles per game throughout the season.
Morgan became first player ever to win college football's three top defensive awards available to linebackers: the Butkus Award, the Bednarik Award and the Nagurski Award.
Warren Sapp, 1994
Sapp originally arrived at Miami as a tight end before emerging at the defensive tackle position. His three-year Hurricane totals included 176 tackles, 19.5 sacks, four forced fumbles, four fumbles recovered and five passes deflected.
Sapp was an All-American his junior season. He won the Lombardi Award -- given to the nation's top lineman/linebacker, and was a finalist for the Outland Trophy in addition to winning UM's first Bronko Nagurski Award.
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