J.R. Reed Named a Finalist for Bronko Nagurski Trophy

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (FWAA) – Five finalists for the 2019 Bronko Nagurski Trophy – presented annually to the nation's top defensive player by the Football Writers Association of America and the Charlotte Touchdown Club – were named on Wednesday.

In alphabetical order, the finalists are: Auburn defensive tackle Derrick Brown, Georgia safety J.R. Reed, Clemson linebacker Isaiah Simmons, Minnesota defensive back Antoine Winfield Jr. and Ohio State defensive end Chase Young.

The Bronko Nagurski Trophy recipient will be chosen from these five finalists. The FWAA All-America Committee, after voting input from the association's entire membership, selects the best defensive player in college football.

J.R. Reed, S, Georgia (6-1, 194, Gr., Frisco, Texas): Reed has been a constant in the Bulldogs' secondary with 39 consecutive starts at safety. He is third on the team with 43 tackles and has 2.0 tackles for loss along with a half-sack and has caused and recovered one fumble. He already has his degree in Communications Studies. More than half (23) of his tackles have been solo stops; in last week's win over Auburn he had five tackles, his second-highest total of the season, all of them solo. Thanks in part to the contributions above as well as one interception, Reed has led Georgia to be the SEC's top defense in scoring (10.5 points per game, No. 2 nationally), rushing defense (75.5 ypg, No. 3 nationally) and total defense (267.2 ypg, No. 6 nationally). Reed is Georgia's seventh finalist and second in three seasons (linebacker Roquan Smith in 2017). Champ Bailey, a defensive back, won Georgia's only previous Bronko Nagurski Trophy in 1998.