DALLAS (FWAA) Florida State linebacker A.J. Nicholson
(Winston-Salem, N.C.) was named the Bronko Nagurski National
Defensive Player of the Week for his performance in the Seminoles'
28-17 win at Boston College this past Saturday.
Nicholson, a senior, had two interceptions and a career-high 19
tackles. He returned his first interception 19 yards for a touchdown on
the first play of the game. He then returned a second interception 40
yards to set up another score. Of Nicholsons 19 tackles, 17 were
unassisted. He also broke up a pass and made a tackle for loss.
Nicholson has been added to the Watch List for the 2005 Bronko
Nagurski Trophy, which will be presented to the best defensive player in
college football on Dec. 5 by the Football Writers Association of
America and the Charlotte Touchdown Club. The presentation will take
place at the Westin Hotel in Charlotte, N.C. Notre Dame football coach
Charlie Weis will be the keynote speaker at the event this year.
For the fifth straight season, the All-America committee of the FWAA will select the winner of the
weekly award on behalf of the Charlotte Touchdown Club. The winner is announced
each Tuesday throughout the season from nominations made by the 11 Division
I-A conferences and member schools.
Last season, Texas linebacker
Derrick Johnson won the coveted Bronko Nagurski Trophy, the 10th season
the FWAA has named a national defensive Player of the year.
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).
2005 Bronko Nagurski National Defensive Players of the Week
• Sept. 10: Dion Byrum, Ohio
• Sept. 17: A.J. Nicholson, Florida State
• Sept. 24: Ben Moffitt, South Florida
• Oct. 1: Jon Abbate, Wake Forest
• Oct. 8: Tim McGarigle, Northwestern
• Oct. 15: Bobby Carpenter, Ohio State
• Oct. 22: Herschel Henderson, Northwestern
• Oct. 29: Michael Johnson, Arizona
• Nov. 5: A.J. Davis, North Carolina State