Texas Tech football's Jacob Rodriguez wins Bronko Nagurski Trophy
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Jacob Rodriguez missed the cut to four finalists for the Heisman Trophy announced on Monday, Dec. 8.
He didn’t have to wait long to win another one of college football’s top honors.
The Texas Tech football star was named winner of the Bronko Nagurski Trophy on Monday night.
The trophy goes to the nation’s top defensive player, and Rodriguez was selected from a group of four finalists that also included Ohio State safety Caleb Downs, Texas A&M defensive end Cashius Howell and Notre Dame cornerback Leonard Moore. The four were on hand for the presentation at a banquet in Charlotte, North Carolina, and Rodriguez accepted the award wearing the trademark black cowboy hat he’s sported in press conferences throughout the season.
The award is presented by the Football Writers Association of America and the Charlotte Touchdown Club.
Rodriguez was honored last week as the Big 12 defensive player of the year and the winner of the Butkus Award, which is presented annually to the nation’s top linebacker. Through 13 games, he’s been credited with 117 tackles, including 11 tackles for loss. He also has an FBS-leading 7 forced fumbles, 6 pass breakups, 4 interceptions and 2 fumble recoveries.
Rodriguez was the first Texas Tech player to win the Butkus Award and now the first Tech player to win the Nagurski Trophy, which originated in 1993. He’s the first Big 12 player to win it since Nebraska defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh in 2009. Arizona linebacker Scooby Wright was the 2014 winner, before Arizona joined the Big 12.
On Wednesday, Rodriguez and Tech edge defender David Bailey will be in attendance in Houston for the announcement of the Lombardi Award, which honors the nation’s top linemen and linebackers.
On Sunday night, Downs won the Lott IMPACT Trophy, for which Rodriguez also was part of a four-man cast of finalists.
Rodriguez also is a finalist for the Chuck Bednarik Award (top defensive player) and the Walter Camp national player of the year.
Texas Tech is 12-1 and won the Big 12 championship game on Saturday, beating Brigham Young 34-7. The Red Raiders have the No. 4 seed and a first-round bye in the College Football Playoff. They’ll play in the Orange Bowl on New Year’s Day against the winner of a first-round game between No. 5 seed Oregon and No. 12 seed James Madison.
This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Texas Tech football’s Jacob Rodriguez wins Bronko Nagurski Trophy
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