DALLAS (FWAA) – Snagging a pair of interceptions that included a pick-six as well as guiding the LSU defense to shut down Florida in the second half of their featured game has earned Tigers safety Dashawn Spears the Bronko Nagurski National Defensive Player of the Week by the Football Writers Association of America.
Each week during the regular season, the FWAA has selected a Bronko Nagurski National Defensive Player of the Week since 2001. The FWAA and the Charlotte Touchdown Club will announce finalists for the 2025 Bronko Nagurski Trophy on Nov. 20. The national defensive player of the year will be chosen from those finalists who are part of the 2025 FWAA All-America Team and presented with the trophy at the Bronko Nagurski Awards Banquet on Dec. 8 at the Charlotte Convention Center.
Players may be added or removed from the Bronko Nagurski Trophy watch list during the season. If a player isn’t already on the preseason watch list – including Spears this week – each week’s honored player is added at that time. LSU defensive tackle Glenn Dorsey won the Bronko Nagurski Trophy in 2007, and the Tigers have had four previous finalists, most recently safety Grant Delpit in 2018.
The interceptions were the first of his career for Spears, a 6-3, 208-pound sophomore from Denham Springs, La.. The picks came in the first and third quarters as the Tigers (3-0) picked off a total of five Florida passes in LSU’s 20-10 victory. Spears’ first quarter interception stopped a Florida drive at the LSU 26-yard line.
The highlight play came with the third quarter interception. Spears took the ball at the LSU 42-yard line and returned it 58 yards for a touchdown that resulted in the final 20-10 score. LSU shut out Florida in the second half, not allowing the Gators past their own 30-yard line, and Spears, who also had two tackles in the game, earned the SEC’s Defensive Player of the Week honor, the first of his career.
LSU held Florida to 79 rushing yards. Through three games, LSU’s defense is allowing only 9.0 points and league-best 56.0 rushing yards a game. In 31 possessions, LSU had limited its opponent to only three touchdowns and has allowed only three trips inside the red zone.
The Tigers host Southeastern Louisiana at 7:45 p.m. ET this week in non-conference action. The SEC Network will provide the coverage.
The FWAA All-America Committee, after voting input from the association’s full membership, selects a 26-man All-America Team and eventually the Bronko Nagurski Trophy finalists. The Bronko Nagurski Trophy winner will be chosen from the finalists named in November. Committee members, by individual ballot, select the winner they regard as the best defensive player in college football.
The FWAA has chosen a National Defensive Player of the Year since 1993. In 1995, the FWAA named the award in honor of the legendary two-way player from the University of Minnesota. Nagurski dominated college football, then became a star for professional football’s Chicago Bears in the 1930s. Bronislaw "Bronko" Nagurski is a charter member of both the College Football and Pro Football Halls of Fame.
The Bronko Nagurski Trophy is a member of the National College Football Awards Association (NCFAA), which encompasses college football’s most prestigious awards. The NCFAA’s 25 awards have honored more than 950 recipients since 1935. This season, 13 NCFAA awards will honor national players of the week each Tuesday. For more information about the NCFAA and its award programs, visit NCFAA.org or follow on X at @NCFAA.
The Charlotte Touchdown Club is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization founded in 1990 for the purpose of promoting high school, collegiate, and professional football in the Charlotte, North Carolina region. Since its inception, the club has grown as well as diversified boasting a sponsor team of more than (80) companies. The Club's activities and services focus community attention on the outstanding Citizenship, Scholarship, Sportsmanship, and Leadership of area athletes and coaches. Through individual and corporate support, more than $3,000,000 has been raised and donated to benefit the Touchdown Club's scholarship efforts.
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Founded in 1941, the Football Writers Association of America consists of 1,300 men and women who cover college football. 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 and its annual All-America team. For more information about the FWAA and its award programs, contact Steve Richardson at tiger@fwaa.com.