Ole Miss defensive tackle Walter Nolen’s name has popped up on a pair of preseason watch lists for prestigious trophies ahead of the upcoming college football campaign.
The Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) announced on Tuesday that Nolen, a top-rated transfer out of Texas A&M, is on alert as a contender for both the Bronko Nagurski Trophy honoring the national defensive player of the year and the Outland Trophy highlighting the top interior lineman in the nation.
A former five-star high school prospect out of Powell, Tenn., Nolen is just one of 11 defenders nationally to be named to both watch lists.
Multiple preseason watch lists for Walter Nolen 🦈@WalterNolenIII | #HottyToddy pic.twitter.com/LLFZRrs1Nz
— Ole Miss Football (@OleMissFB) July 30, 2024
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.
Celebrating 79 years since its founding, the Outland Trophy is the third-oldest major college football award. Created in 1946 when Dr. John Outland presented the FWAA with a financial contribution to initiate the award, the Outland Trophy has been given to the best interior lineman in college football ever since Dr. Outland, an All-American at the University of Pennsylvania in the late 1890s, eventually took up practice in Kansas City, Mo. An avid outdoorsman, Dr. Outland believed linemen did not get the credit they deserved and wanted an award to recognize them.
Nolen is in his first season in Oxford after transferring to Ole Miss this past offseason. While in College Station, he appeared in 22 career games for the Aggies, including 10 starts on the defensive line in 2023. The former prep Under Armour All-American registered 37 total tackles last season with 8.5 tackles for loss and four sacks as a sophomore. Earlier this summer, Nolen was named preseason first-team All-SEC by the league’s media members.
The FWAA and the Charlotte Touchdown Club will announce finalists for the 2024 trophy on November 20 and the winner will be unveiled on December 9 at the Bronko Nagurski Awards Banquet in Charlotte, N.C.
As for the Outland Trophy recipient, the winner will be announced as part of The Home Depot College Football Awards, live on ESPN on December 12. The official presentation to the winner will be made at the Outland Trophy Awards Dinner in Omaha, Neb., on January 22, 2025. The FWAA will announce the Outland Trophy semifinalists on November 20, and those players will then be paired down to three finalists announced on November 26. The Outland Trophy winner is chosen from those finalists who will be part of the annual FWAA All-America Team.
Nolen will have the chance to vie for both awards once the Rebels kick off the 2024 campaign against Furman on Saturday, August 31 at 6 p.m. CT.
