Daniel Wingate Named to 2026 Bronko Nagurski Trophy Watch List
8/4/2026 12:00:00 PM | Football
DALLAS, TX -- Maryland senior linebacker Daniel Wingate has been named to the 2026 Bronko Nagurski Trophy Watch List, announced by the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) on Tuesday. The award recognizes the top defensive player in college football.
Wingate, a 6-foot-5, 230-pound standout from Bowie, Maryland, enters the 2026 season after back-to-back breakout campaigns in 2024 and 2025. An Honorable Mention All-Big Ten selection in 2025, Wingate turned in one of the most productive defensive seasons in recent Maryland history. He led the Terrapins and ranked sixth in the Big Ten with 102 total tackles, becoming the first Terp to record 100 or more tackles in a season since Tre Watson's All-America campaign in 2018.
A consistent force in the middle of Maryland's defense, Wingate ranked second in the Big Ten and tied for seventh nationally with 62 solo tackles. He also totaled 6.5 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks, one interception and two quarterback hurries. Wingate posted five double-digit tackle performances, including a career-high 14 tackles against NIU.
A St. Vincent Pallotti graduate, Wingate enters the 2026 season with a team-best 24 consecutive starts among returning defensive players.
Players may be added to or removed from the watch list throughout the season. As in previous years, the FWAA will announce its Bronko Nagurski National Defensive Player of the Week each Tuesday during the season. If a weekly honoree is not already on the watch list, that player will be added at the time of the announcement.
Following voting by the association's full membership, the FWAA All-America Committee selects a 26-player All-America Team and the finalists for the Bronko Nagurski Trophy. The committee then votes to determine the nation's top defensive player.
The FWAA has recognized a National Defensive Player of the Year since 1993. In 1995, the organization renamed the award in honor of Bronko Nagurski, the legendary two-way star at the University of Minnesota who later enjoyed a Hall of Fame career with the Chicago Bears. Bronislaw Bronko Nagurski is a charter member of both the College Football Hall of Fame and the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
The Bronko Nagurski Trophy is a member of the National College Football Awards Association (NCFAA), which encompasses the sport's most prestigious awards. Since 1935, the NCFAA's 25 awards have honored nearly 1,000 recipients.
