DALLAS – Jax State’s Tre’Quon Fegans and Kennesaw State’s Baron Hopson have been selected to the 2026 Bronko Nagurski Trophy Watch List, announced Tuesday by the Football Writers Association of America. The award is presented annually to the national defensive player of the year.
 
Fegans appeared in 12 games and established himself as one of the conference’s top defensive backs, totaling 27 tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss, one interception and nine pass breakups on the season. According to PFF, he was targeted 39 times while allowing just 14 receptions and one touchdown. He delivered several standout performances, including a season-high seven tackles in the Air National Guard CUSA Championship against Kennesaw State, four pass breakups in the regular season matchup with the Owls and a highlight-reel one-handed interception in the end zone at FIU.
 
Hopson put together one of the finest defensive seasons in Conference USA history, earning Conference USA Co-Defensive Player of the Year and First Team All-CUSA honors. The 14-game starter shattered the program's single-season tackles record with 138 stops while adding nine tackles for loss, a forced fumble and an interception. Hopson recorded nine games with at least 10 tackles, including a season-high 16 against Liberty to help send the Owls to the Conference USA Championship Game and earn CUSA Defensive Player of the Week honors.
 
The FWAA and the Charlotte Touchdown Club will announce finalists for the 2026 trophy on Nov. 19. The official presentation to the recipient of the 2026 Bronko Nagurski Trophy will be at the Bronko Nagurski Awards Banquet in Charlotte, N.C. on Dec. 7.
 
Players may be added or removed from the watch list during the course of the season. As in previous years, the FWAA will announce a Bronko Nagurski National Defensive Player of the Week each Tuesday this season. If not already on the watch list, each week’s honored player will be added at that time.