BYU Football: Corbin Kaufusi lands on Bronko Nagurski watch list
By Shaun Gordon
A third BYU Football standout is on a watch list for a major college football award. This time it’s Corbin Kaufusi for the Bronko Nagurski Trophy.
The watch lists for the major college football awards keep rolling in, and another BYU Football player finds himself on the radar.
On Tuesday, the Charlotte Touchdown Club released the Bronko Nagurski Trophy watch list, and Cougar defensive lineman Corbin Kaufusi is among the 97 candidates.
That’s a huge list, since the Nagurski Trophy is given to the best defensive player in the country, regardless of position. Kaufusi is one of 24 defensive ends named by the Charlotte Touchdown Club.
The watch list will be whittled down to five finalists late in the season, and the winner of the trophy is voted on by members of the Football Writers Association of America.
Kaufusi originally signed with BYU as a basketball player, playing under Dave Rose as a freshman. During his sophomore year, he split time between the hardwood and the gridiron, before deciding to focus on football full-time as junior.
Last year for the Cougars, Kaufusi recorded 67 tackles, including 7.5 tackles for loss and 6 sacks. he also forced 2 fumbles.
The name Kaufusi is no stranger to the Nagurski Trophy watch list. In 2015, Corbin’s older brother Bronson landed on the list. Bronson is currently playing in the NFL for the Baltimore Ravens.
The Cougars will need Corbin to dominate in his senior season as they look to turn things around after a disastrous 2017 campaign. Kaufusi was one of the few linemen to get consistent backfield pressure, and BYU needs to see much more of that from the entire defensive line if they’re going to return to a bowl game in 2018.
Kaufusi joins Matt Bushman (Mackey Award) and Squally Canada (Doak Walker Award) as Cougars that have found themselves on watch lists so far for 2018.