Julian Okwara, Khalid Kareem And Alohi Gilman Named To Nagurski Watch List
Three Notre Dame defenders were named to the Nagurski Trophy Watch List, which goes to the nation's best defensive player.
Senior ends Julian Okwara and Khalid Kareem were joined by classmate Alohi Gilman on the list, which included 92 defensive players.
Okwara led the Irish defense with 12.5 tackles for loss and tied with All-American Jerry Tillery for the team-lead with eight sacks. His 61 quarterback pressures according to Pro Football Focus ranked seventh in the country last season.
Okwara was named a preseason second-team All-American in the Lindy's Sports preseason magazine, third-team honors from Athlon Sports and fourth-team from Phil Steele.
Kareem tied with Tillery for second on the defense with 10.5 tackles for loss. His 37 quarterback pressures ranks 28th among all returning Power 5 ends. Kareem added 4.5 sacks and led the Irish defensive line with five pass break ups from the edge.
Gilman finished the 2018 season with 94 tackles, five pass break ups, two interceptions and three forced fumbles. His seven passes defensed was more than the entire Notre Dame safety depth chart in 2017. Gilman made a name for himself by making a number of clutch plays for the Irish, which earned him Pro Football Focus All-American honors last fall.
The trophy was first handed out in 1996. Former Irish linebacker Manti Te'o (2012) is the only former Irish player to win the award.
Notre Dame, LSU, Iowa State and Penn State were all tied with second for the most representatives on the list.
Nine Notre Dame opponents were named to the Watch List. Michigan had two defenders on the list, safety Josh Metellus and Lavert Hill. Virginia also had two defenders, cornerback Bryce Hall and linebacker or Jordan Mack. Duke defensive end Victor Dimukeje, Stanford cornerback Paulson Adebo, Virginia Tech linebacker Rayshard Ashby, Georgia safety J.R. Reed and USC defensive tackle Jay Tufele were all named to the list.
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