July 8, 2011
Dallas, Texas – More preseason recognition is coming for Vanderbilt defensive standouts Chris Marve and Casey Hayward.
On Friday, the Football Writers Association of America and Charlotte Touchdown Club included Marve, a senior linebacker from Memphis, Tenn., and Hayward, a senior defensive back from Perry, Ga., as preseason candidates for the prestigious Nagurski Trophy.
The trophy, named for legendary University of Minnesota player and NFL Hall of Famer Bronko Nagurski, is annually awarded to the nation’s best defensive player.
For Marve and Hayward, the Nagurski Trophy recognition comes two days after the Maxwell Football Club named both as candidates for another top defensive honor, the Bednarik Award.
It marks the second consecutive year that Marve, a two-time All-Southeastern Conference linebacker, has been included on the Nagurski Award list. He has also been named as a candidate for the Lott IMPACT Trophy, and is expected to be added as a preseason candidate for the Butkus Award next week.
Hayward has also received additional accolades. He was named as a preseason All-America by Phil Steele’s College Football Preview and is an early contender for the Thorpe Award given to the nation’s outstanding defensive back.
A third Commodore senior, tight end Brandon Barden, was named to the Mackey Award preseason watch list earlier this week.
Barden, Marve and Hayward are among 20 returning starters expected to greet first-year Head Coach James Franklin in early August for preseason camp.
Marve is the SEC’s active career leader with 306 tackles, and also ranks among the league’s leaders with seven career forced fumbles. In 2010, he contributed 80 tackles, including a career-high eight stops for loss, after posting more than 100 total tackles as a redshirt freshman and sophomore in 2008 and 2009, respectively.
Hayward topped the SEC with 17 defensed passes last year. He also contributed six interceptions in 2010, tying for second most in the conference. Hayward also established a single-season high with 70 tackles. Marve and Hayward are among 87 players on the Nagurski Trophy watch list.
Nineteen players from the SEC – more than any other conference – are included as preseason candidates for the award.
The Bronko Nagurski Trophy winner is chosen from five finalists who are part of the FWAA All-America Team. The FWAA All-America Committee, after voting input from the entire membership, selects the 25-man team and eventually the Bronko Nagurski finalists. Committee members, then by individual ballot, select the winner, the best defensive player in America. The Nagurski Trophy Banquet will be on Dec. 12 at the Westin Hotel in Charlotte, N.C.
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