Wake Forest Athletics
Curry, Smith Named to Nagurski Trophy Watch List
5/15/2008 12:00:00 AM | Football
May 15, 2008
Wake Forest linebacker Aaron Curry and corner back Alphonso Smith have been named to the preseason watch list for the 2008 Bronko Nagurski Trophy. The announcement was made this week by the Football Writers Association of America. The Nagurski Trophy is awarded to the nation's top defensive football player and is sponsored by the Charlotte Touchdown Club.
Curry, a 6-3, 240-pound redshirt senior, was a second team All-ACC selection last year and was twice named ACC Player of the Week. He was second on the team with 99 tackles and the team leader with 13.5 tackles for loss. The native of Fayetteville, N.C. intercepted four passes and returned three of them for touchdowns. Curry led the nation in interception return yards and tied an NCAA record for the most interception returns for touchdown by a linebacker in a season with three. His 226 interception return yards were the most-ever for an ACC defender.
Smith, a 5-9, 191-pound redshirt senior, was a first team All-ACC pick and a second team All-America in 2007 as he led the nation with eight interceptions. Like Curry, Smith returned three of those picks for touchdowns. He has 14 career interceptions to rank 16th in ACC history. Smith returned an interception against Maryland 100 yards for a score that set a school record and made him just the sixth ACC player in history to go the distance. Smith also earned ACC Defensive Back of the Week honors following the Maryland game.
The FWAA All-America Committee selects the Nagurski Trophy winner from the association's 11-man All-America defensive team in November. The Nagurski Trophy has been presented since 1993 and is awarded in memory of the legendary former All-America lineman at Minnesota in 1927-29 who went on to star for the Chicago Bears in the 1930s.
LSU defensive tackle Glenn Dorsey was the 2007 recipient of the Nagurski Trophy, beating out Virginia's Chris Long and Kansas' Aqib Talib.
