Colorado State University Athletics
CSU's Sisson on prestigious national watch list
7/8/2011 12:00:00 AM | Football
July 8, 2011
By Zak Gilbert
Athletic Media Relations
DALLAS, Texas - Colorado State's Mychal Sisson appears on the official preseason watch list for the Bronko Nagurski Trophy, given to the nation's most outstanding defensive player, the Charlotte Touchdown Club and Football Writers Association of America announced Friday.
A 5-11, 207-pound linebacker from Duncanville, Texas, Sisson is the first CSU player on the Nagurski watch list since Jesse Nading in 2007. He also is the only player from a Colorado or Front Range football program represented on the watch list.
An All-America candidate, Sisson enters his senior season leading the nation in career tackles for loss (38.5). In 2010, he ranked first in the country with seven forced fumbles. Clemson's Da'Quan Bowers won the Nagurski Trophy after his junior season in 2010, then entered the NFL Draft. Had Bowers remained at Clemson, he would've been the nation's only player with more career stops behind the line of scrimmage than Sisson.
A first-team all-Mountain West selection in most preseason publications, including Athlon, Lindy's and Phil Steele, Sisson is a fourth-year starter and two-time all-conference performer. A freshman All-American in 2008, he needs 95 tackles to pass No. 4 Nate Kvamme (385, 1995-98), and 112 to pass No. 3 Ron Cortell (402, 1985-88), on CSU's all-time list. Sisson enters the Sept. 3 opener at New Mexico with 291 career stops.
Awarded annually by the FWAA and CTC since 1993, the two organizations will select five finalists on Nov. 17. The annual Bronko Nagurski Trophy Banquet is Dec. 12 at the Westin Hotel in Charlotte, N.C. The event also celebrates the recipient of the Bronko Nagurski Legends Award presented by Florida East Coast Railway. Florida's Jack Youngblood, an end from the FWAA's 1970 All-America team, will be honored. Georgia head coach Mark Richt will be the keynote speaker at the banquet.
Past Nagurski Trophy winners include Ndamukong Suh (2009), future Denver Broncos Elvis Dumervil (2005) and Champ Bailey (1998), and Brian Orakpo (2008), the older brother of current CSU linebacker Mike Orakpo, who will line up opposite Sisson in the Rams defense.
The award's namesake, Nagurski, is a pro and college football hall of famer who joined the Chicago Bears after a legendary college career at Minnesota. He left a legacy as one of the toughest players in the game's annals, college or pro. An all-NFL selection in 1932, 1933, 1934, 1936 and 1937, he led the Bears to two world championships, including the 1943 title after a five-year retirement. A consensus All-American in 1929, he once drug six tacklers into the end zone. The Gophers were 18-4-2 with him in the lineup.
Sisson (2011), Nading (2007) and Rick Crowell (2000) are the last three Rams recognized on the preseason Nagurski watch list. Nading is in his fourth year with the NFL's Houston Texans. Crowell went on to earn the Mountain West Defensive Player of the Year.
CSU opens fall camp Aug. 4.
In addition to Sisson, several CSU players appear on various preseason honors lists. The official preseason all-Mountain West team is announced at the annual conference media days the last week of July. To date, the list of those Rams recognized:
Preseason All-Mountain West
RB Raymond Carter (fourth-team: Phil Steele)
PK Ben DeLine (second-team: Lindy's; fourth-team: Phil Steele)
DT John Froland (third-team: Phil Steele)
G Jake Gdowski (second-team: Athlon; fourth-team: Phil Steele)
KR Derek Good (third-team: Phil Steele)
WR Lou Greenwood (second-team: Lindy's; third-team: Phil Steele)
S Ivory Herd (second-team: Athlon, Phil Steele)
P Pete Kontodiakos (first-team: Sporting News; second-team: Athlon, Lindy's, Phil Steele)
OT Paul Madsen (first-team: Athlon, Blue Ribbon, Phil Steele, Sporting News; second-team: Lindy's)
LB Mike Orakpo (fourth-team: Phil Steele)
C Weston Richburg (first-team: Lindy's; second-team: Athlon, Phil Steele)
LB Mychal Sisson (first-team: Athlon, Lindy's, Phil Steele)
CB Elijah-Blu Smith (fourth-team: Phil Steele)
WR Byron Steele (fourth-team: Phil Steele)
PR Momo Thomas (second-team: Athlon)
QB Pete Thomas (fourth-team: Phil Steele)
Rams in contention for national awards
Bronko Nagurski Trophy (top defensive player): LB Mychal Sisson (one of 87 on preseason watch list; finalists announced Nov. 17; winner announced Dec. 12).
Rimington Trophy (top center): C Weston Richburg (one of 42 on preseason watch list; winner announced Dec. 8).
Miscellaneous
Mountain West `Best Under Pressure': QB Pete Thomas (Sporting News)
No. 21-ranked special teams unit in nation: Colorado State (Phil Steele)
