DALLAS (FWAA) Western Michigan linebacker Ameer Ismail has been named the FWAA/Bronko Nagurski Defensive Player of the Week for games the week of Oct. 21.
Ismail, a 6-2, 225-pound junior from Holland, Mich., tied an NCAA record with six sacks in the Broncos' 41-27 win at Ball State. He also returned an interception 29 yards for a touchdown in the game. The six sacks equals the record set last season by Louisville's Elvis Dumervil, the 2005 Bronko Nagurski Trophy winner.
With 11 sacks this season, Ismail is in range of the Mid-American Conference single-season record of 16 sacks.
The Bronko Nagurski Trophy will be presented to the best defensive player in college football on Dec. 4 by the FWAA and the Charlotte Touchdown Club at the Westin Hotel in Charlotte, N.C.
The Football Writers Association of America, a non-profit organization founded in 1941, consists of more than 900 men and women across North America who cover college football for a living. 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, a national poll and its annual All-America team.
The Charlotte Touchdown Club is a non-profit organization founded in 1990 for the purpose of promoting high school, collegiate, and professional football in the Charlotte, N.C. region. The club's activities and services focus community attention on the outstanding citizenship, scholarship, sportsmanship, and leadership of area athletes and coaches. For more information, contact John Rocco (704-347-2918 or jrocco@touchdownclub.com). The official website of the Charlotte Touchdown Club is www.touchdownclub.com.
For more information on the Bronko Nagurski Trophy, contact FWAA executive director Steve Richardson (972-713-6198 or tiger@fwaa.com).
2006 Bronko Nagurski National Defensive Players of the Week
Sept. 2: Buster Davis, Florida State
· Sept. 9: James Laurinaitis, Ohio State
· Sept. 16: Prescott Burgess, Michigan
· Sept. 23: Terrail Lambert, Notre Dame
· Sept. 30: Philip Wheeler, Georgia Tech
· Oct. 7: Aaron Ross, Texas
· Oct. 14: Quentin Groves, Auburn
· Oct. 21: Ameer Ismail, Western Michigan
· Oct. 28: Damon Nickson, Middle Tennessee
· Nov. 4: Quinton Culberson, Mississippi State