RENO (AP) - Nevada defensive end Brock Hekking has been named the national defensive football player of the week by the Football Writers Association of America after forcing two fumbles and making an interception in the Wolf Pack's 31-9 win over Hawaii.
The 6-foot-4, 255-pound junior from Vacaville, Calif., also broke up two passes and had six tackles, including 3.5 for losses.
Hekking's selection for the weekly FWAA/Bronko Nagurski puts him on the watch list for the 2013 Bronko Nagurski Trophy. The writers will select five finalists on Nov. 21 and announce the winner Dec. 9 at the Charlotte Touchdown Club in North Carolina.
The other weekly winners so far this year are Northwestern's Collin Ellis, Michigan State's Shilique Calhoun and UCLA's Anthony Barr.
The trophy is given in memory of the legendary All-American lineman at Minnesota (1927-29). Nagurski dominated college football at Minnesota as a bruising fullback and defensive tackle and could have been an All-America at any position. He then became a star for professional football's Chicago Bears in the 1930s.
The FWAA has sponsored a National Defensive Player of the Year award since 1993 and has named a National Defensive Player of the Week since the 2001 season. Last year, Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te'o won the coveted Bronko Nagurski Trophy at season's end. In 2007, the FWAA and the Charlotte Touchdown club added the Bronko Nagurski Legends Award, which is sponsored by Florida East Coast Railway. A top defensive player from a past FWAA All-America team is the annual recipient of that award. Former Georgia Tech great Randy Rhino is the winner of the 2013 award.[[In-content Ad]]
