South Carolina star pass rusher Dylan Stewart nominated to preseason watch list for Nagurski Trophy as nation's top defender

South Carolina football sophomore EDGE Dylan Stewart has been nominated to the preseason watch list for the Bronko Nagurski Trophy. Named for the legendary Hall of Famer of the same name, the Nagurski Trophy is awarded to the top defensive player in college football each year. Stewart is one of 60 preseason nominees for the watch list.

Last season, Stewart’s running mate at defensive end, senior Kyle Kennard, earned the first-ever Nagurski Trophy for the University of South Carolina. Two teams have gone back-to-back in the history of the award, but both times (Will Anderson, Jr. from Alabama and Pat Fitzgerald from Northwestern) the same player won the award each time. No team has ever had two different players win the award in consecutive years.

Stewart finished the 2024 season as one of the best freshmen in college football. With a step forward in 2025, his name will continue to be part of the postseason award discussions throughout the fall.

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From the South Carolina Athletics release:

COLUMBIA, S.C. (July 29, 2025) – University of South Carolina Edge rusher Dylan Stewart is one of 60 players listed as a contender for the 2025 Bronko Nagurski Trophy, which recognizes the national defensive player of the year, the Football Writers Association of America announced today.

Stewart, a dynamic sophomore edge rusher whose 6.5 sacks last year placed him on the FWAA’s Freshman All-America team, is on the list hoping to model the success of Kyle Kennard, the Gamecocks’ edge rusher who won the Bronko Nagurski Trophy last season. The 6-5, 245-pounder from Washington, D.C., was a finalist for the Shaun Alexander National Freshman of the Year award and was a member of the SEC All-Freshman team in 2024.

The FWAA and the Charlotte Touchdown Club will announce four finalists for the 2025 Bronko Nagurski Trophy in mid-to-late November, and the winner will be revealed at the Bronko Nagurski Awards Banquet on Dec. 8 in Charlotte, N.C.

Players may be added or removed from the watch list during the course of the season. As in previous years, the FWAA will announce a Bronko Nagurski National Defensive Player of the Week each Tuesday this season. If not already on the watch list, each week’s honored player will be added at that time.

The FWAA All-America Committee, after voting input from the association’s full membership, selects a 26-man All-America Team and eventually the Bronko Nagurski Trophy finalists. Committee members, by individual ballot, select the winner they regard as the best defensive player in college football.

The FWAA has chosen a National Defensive Player of the Year since 1993. In 1995, the FWAA named the award in honor of the legendary two-way player from the University of Minnesota. Nagurski dominated college football, then became a star for professional football’s Chicago Bears in the 1930s. Bronislaw “Bronko” Nagurski is a charter member of both the College Football and Pro Football Halls of Fame.

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