Three Bulldogs named to 2023 Bronco Nagurski Trophy Watch List

Three Georgia Bulldogs have been named to the 2023 Bronko Nagurski Award Watch List, the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) announced on Tuesday.

Bulldogs named to the 2023 Bronko Nagurski Award Watch List include defensive end Mykel Williams, safety Malaki Starks, and linebacker Jamon Dumas-Johnson.

The Bronko Nagurski trophy is an annual award given to the top defensive player in college football as voted by the FWAA. 94 players have been named to the list and the SEC and Big Ten are first with 15 players each.

The full conference breakdown is as follows: SEC (15); Big Ten (15); Big 12 (11), ACC (10); Pac-12 (10); American (6); MAC (6): Mountain West (6); Sun Belt (6); Conference USA (4), and Independents (4).

The FWAA and the Charlotte Touchdown Club will announce finalists for the 2023 Bronko Nagurski trophy in November and the winner will be unveiled on Monday, Dec. 4 at the Bronko Nagurski Awards Banquet in Charlotte, N.C.

Mykel Williams, a 6-foot-5, 265-pound sophomore, hails from Columbus, Ga. Williams started at defensive line in two of 15 games last season and was named a FWAA Freshman All-American.

Malaki Starks, a 6-foot-1, 205-pound sophomore, started at defensive back in 14 of 15 games last season. He was third on the team in tackles with 68 total stops and had two interceptions.

Jamon Dumas-Johnson, a 6-foot-1, 245-pound junior, hails from Hyattsville, Md. Dumas-Johnson started at linebacker in all 15 games last season and was named to the Associated Press All-SEC 2nd Team.

The back-to-back national champion Georgia Bulldogs are scheduled to open the 2023 season on Saturday, Sept. 2 against the UT Martin Skyhawks at Dooley Field at Sanford Stadium in Athens, Ga.

2023 UGA Football Schedule