DALLAS (FWAA) – Navy linebacker Colin Ramos made 20 tackles Saturday in the Midshipmen’s 56-44 win over No. 23 Memphis, the highest total by any player in the Football Bowl Subdivision this season. For the career-high mark that was central to Navy’s first win over a ranked opponent since 2022, Ramos earned the Bronko Nagurski National Defensive Player of the Week honor for games played the weekend of Sept. 21, as selected by the Football Writers Association of America.
Each week during the regular season, the FWAA has selected a Bronko Nagurski National Defensive Player of the Week since 2001. The FWAA and the Charlotte Touchdown Club will announce finalists for the 2024 Bronko Nagurski Trophy on Nov. 20. The national defensive player of the year will be chosen from those finalists who are part of the 2024 FWAA All-America Team and presented with the trophy at the Bronko Nagurski Awards Banquet on Dec. 9 at the Charlotte Convention Center.
Players may be added or removed from the Bronko Nagurski Trophy watch list during the season. If a player isn’t already on the preseason watch list – Ramos is on the preseason list – each week’s honored player will be added at that time.
Ramos’ 20 tackles are the most by a Navy player since Ross Pospisil had 20 vs. NIU in 2007. The 5-11, 210-pound senior from Wayne, N.J., also posted Navy's only two tackles for a loss, its only sack and broke up a pass in the end zone on third down that saved a touchdown on a drive that Memphis ultimately came up empty.
Ramos is averaging 15.0 tackles per game on the year, which is second in the FBS.
The team co-captain has seen action in 32 games during his career, including 24 starts, and has earned three varsity letters. He will likely make his 200th career tackles this weekend at UAB (currently has 198), and perhaps a 20th tackle for loss (18.5 for now).
Ramos led Navy with 110 tackles last fall, the most by any Navy player in ten seasons, before earning 2023 First-Team All-American Athletic Conference and All-East honors taking charge on a defense that tied for the national lead with three shutouts. Those accolades led to him being a member of the FWAA’s Bronko Nagurski Trophy preseason watch list entering the 2024 season.
Navy has gone to a bowl game the last 5 times it started the year 3-0 and has started 3-0 just 15 times since 1943. Navy has started 4-0 just 6 times since 1960.
The Midshipmen travel to Birmingham, Ala.. on Saturday to face UAB (1-2) in a 12 p.m. ET game on ESPN2.
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. The Bronko Nagurski Trophy winner will be chosen from the finalists named in November. 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.
The Bronko Nagurski Trophy is a member of the National College Football Awards Association. Founded in 1997, the NCFAA includes college football’s most prestigious awards and its 24 awards have honored more than 900 recipients dating back to 1935. This season, 13 NCFAA awards will honor national players of the week each Tuesday. For more information about the NCFAA and its award programs, visit NCFAA.org or follow on X at @NCFAA.
The Charlotte Touchdown Club is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization founded in 1990 for the purpose of promoting high school, collegiate, and professional football in the Charlotte, North Carolina region. Since its inception, the club has grown as well as diversified boasting a sponsor team of more than (80) companies. The Club's activities and services focus community attention on the outstanding Citizenship, Scholarship, Sportsmanship, and Leadership of area athletes and coaches. Through individual and corporate support, more than $3,000,000 has been raised and donated to benefit the Touchdown Club's scholarship efforts.
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Founded in 1941, the Football Writers Association of America consists of 1,300 men and women who cover college football. The membership includes journalists, broadcasters and publicists, as well as key executives in all the areas that involve the game. The FWAA works to govern areas that include game-day operations, major awards and its annual All-America team. For more information about the FWAA and its award programs, contact Steve Richardson at tiger@fwaa.com.