No. 3 Texas A&M (10-0, 7-0 SEC) will host Samford (1-10) out of the FCS for an early Saturday afternoon kickoff, which will also serve as Senior Day, where over 30 players will be honored, led by redshirt senior edge Cashius Howell and senior defensive tackle Albert Regis. Both players deserve immense credit for leading the way defensively, while Howell leads the SEC in sacks (11.5), paired with 12.5 tackles for loss, six pass breakups, and 30-plus pressures.
Throughout the offseason, most of us in Aggie media felt that Cashius Howell was due for a breakout season after Nic Scourton and Shemar Stewart departed for the NFL. In contrast, his added strength in the offseason, combined with his elite athleticism as a pass rusher, was oddly overlooked by the national media.
Texas A&M leads the nation in sacks (38), and while Howell likely won’t match or break Von Miller’s single-season sack record (17), he has already bolstered his NFL Draft standing and will likely be selected in the first, second, or third round by this time next April.
With all his success through nine games, paired with his leadership on and off the field, Howell was named a finalist for the Lombardi Award and is now one of four finalists for the Bronko Nagurski Award, joining Texas Tech LB Jacob Rodriguez, Ohio State safety Caleb Downs, and Notre Dame cornerback Leonard Moore.
Howell is averaging 1.15 sacks per game, and combined with his 11.5 sacks, this is the highest production since future NFL Hall of Fame defensive end Myles Garrett produced the exact numbers during his 2014 freshman season in College Station. Howell has been named SEC Defensive Player of the Week four times this season, which is a Texas A&M record.
Per Texas A&M Athletics, here are the official details regarding the Bronko Nagurski Award Ceremony.
The winner will be named Monday, Dec. 8, at the Bronko Nagurski Awards Banquet in Charlotte, N.C. The Bronko Nagurski Trophy, created in 1993, is awarded to the best defensive player in college football and is presented by the Charlotte Touchdown Club. The award was established to complement the Heisman Trophy Award, which at the time had never been presented to a defensive player.
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This article originally appeared on Aggies Wire: Texas A&M senior Edge named a finalist for the Bronko Nagurski Trophy
Reporting by Cameron Ohnysty, Aggies Wire / Aggies Wire
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