Sept. 23, 2008
RELATED LINKS: ‘Dores ranked No. 21 | ESPN to televise AU/VU game
Dallas, Texas – Vanderbilt strong safety Ryan Hamilton has been named the Football Writers Association of America/Bronko Nagurski National Defensive Player of the Week for his remarkable performance in the Commodores’ 23-17 win last Saturday at Ole Miss.
Hamilton, a 6-2, 210-pound junior from Wycombe, Pa., tied a school record with three interceptions. He returned one interception 79 yards for a touchdown, instantly changing the momentum after the Rebels built an early lead. Hamilton’s third interception sealed the victory as time expired.
The effort resulted in a sweep of national defensive awards for the Commodore junior. On Sunday, he received the Walter Camp Foundation’s National Defensive Player of the Week award. Hamilton claimed top weekly defensive honors from the Southeastern Conference on Monday.
The Commodores are off to their third 4-0 start since 1984. They are also ranked for the first time since that season: No. 21 in the Associated Press Poll and No. 25 in the USA Today Coaches Poll.
Vanderbilt, also 2-0 in the Southeastern Conference for the first time since 2005, is off this Saturday. They return to action on Saturday, Oct. 4 hosting nationally ranked Auburn on ESPN.
Hamilton, who became the second Vanderbilt defender to win the FWAA’s weekly award this season, added a fumble recovery and had six tackles (four unassisted), including a goal-line stop that prevented a Rebel score. The other Vanderbilt recipient this season was linebacker Patrick Benoist in a 24-17 victory over South Carolina.
Hamilton will be added to the 2008 Bronko Nagurski Trophy Watch List. The Bronko Nagurski Trophy will be presented to the best defensive player in college football on Dec. 7 by the FWAA and the Charlotte Touchdown Club at the Westin Hotel in Charlotte, N.C. Five finalists for the Nagurski Trophy will be announced on Nov. 17.
Each week during the 2008 season the FWAA All-America Committee will select a national defensive player of the week from nominations made by the 11 Division I Bowl Subdivision Conferences and major independents.
The Football Writers Association of America, a non-profit organization founded in 1941, consists of more than 1,000 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 Web site of the Charlotte Touchdown Club is www.touchdownclub.com.
2008 Bronko Nagurski National Defensive Players of the Week
– Aug. 30: Ben Owens, Arkansas State
– Sept. 6: Patrick Benoist, Vanderbilt
– Sept. 13: DeAndre Levy, Wisconsin
– Sept. 20: Ryan Hamilton, Vanderbilt
