Football

Four Players Named to Buck Buchanan Award Watch List


• Complete 2023 Buck Buchanan Award Watch List

Four Big South-OVC Football Association players have been named to the preseason watch list for the 2023 Buck Buchanan Award, presented by FedEx Ground and given annually to the national defensive player of the year in Division I FCS college football.

The players were UT Martin junior defensive lineman Daylan Dotson, Gardner-Webb senior defensive lineman Ty French, Southeast Missouri junior linebacker Bryce Norman and Southeast Missouri graduate defensive back Lawrence Johnson. The quartet are among 35 players nationally on the list.

More players can join the watch list during the regular season before a national media panel selects the winner from a group of finalists. First awarded in 1995, the Buchanan includes past recipients such as Dexter Coakley, Rashean Mathis, Jared Allen and Arthur Moats. The award will be presented at the national awards banquet on the eve of the FCS championship game in Frisco, Texas. 

Last season Dotson ranked 23rd nationally in sacks (0.73/game) and 28th in tackles for loss (1.3/game). He finished the year with 48 tackles (18 solo), 14.5 tackles for loss, 9.5 sacks, 15 quarterback hurries, five forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries. Dotson helped UTM rank first nationally in turnovers gained (28) and in the Top 20 nationally in tackles for loss (17th) and sacks (20th) while earning All-American honors.

French, a 2022 finalist for the award, earned Big South Defensive Player of the Year honors in helping the Runnin' Bulldogs to the Big South Championship and a FCS Playoff berth. He finished the regular-season as the Big South leader in sacks (11.5), setting the league single-season record, which ranked him ninth nationally.  He tallied 72 total tackles, 15 tackles-for-loss, one interception and one forced fumble. He posted a tackle-for-loss in ten of 13 appearances, as well as a sack in nine outings.

Norman, a 2022 finalist for the award, ranked 16th nationally in tackles/game (9.8/game) last season. Including the team's playoff game at Montana, Norman finished the year with 119 tackles (57 solo), 5.5 tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks, one interception, five pass breakups, eight quarterback hurries, a fumble recovery, a forced fumble and a defensive touchdown. He had a season-best 17 tackles against Nicholls and added 16 versus Eastern Kentucky.

In 12 games Johnson, a first-team All-OVC pick, had 84 tackles (42 solo), which was second on the team, 7.5 tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks, one interception, eight pass breakups and three quarterback hurries. In the team's playoff game at Montana he added a fumble recovery for a touchdown.  Overall this year the team ranked 26th in scoring defense (21.5 points/game).


2023 Buck Buchanan Award Watch List

Defensive Linemen 
Sundiata Anderson, Grambling State, Sr., 6-5, 240 (Southwestern Athletic Conference)
Finn Claypool, Drake, R-So., 6-1, 240 (Pioneer Football League)
Daylan Dotson, UT Martin, Jr., 6-3, 280 (Big South-OVC Football Association)
Ty French, Gardner-Webb, Sr., 6-3, 230 (Big South-OVC Football Association) - 2022 Finalist
Patrick Godbolt, South Carolina State, Sr., 6-3, 235 (Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference)
Thor Griffith, Harvard, Sr., 6-2, 305 (Ivy League)
Nate Lynn, William & Mary, Sr., 6-3, 255 (CAA Football) - 2021 Finalist
Eli Mostaert, North Dakota State, Sr., 6-3, 286 (Missouri Valley Football Conference)
Eric O’Neill, LIU, So., 6-3, 240 (Northeast Conference)
Jay Person, Chattanooga, Sr., 6-3, 224 (Southern Conference) - 2022 Finalist
Josiah Silver, New Hampshire, Jr., 6-2, 243 (CAA Football)
Sebastian Valdez, Montana State, Jr., 6-3, 291 (Big Sky Conference)
David Walker, Central Arkansas, Jr., 6-3, 265 (United Athletic Conference) - 2022 Finalist
Syrus Webster, Utah Tech, Jr., 6-4, 255 (United Athletic Conference)

Linebackers 
Colton Adams, Alabama State, R-Jr., 6-2, 230 (Southwestern Athletic Conference)
Armon Bailey, Sacramento State, Sr., 6-1, 228 (Big Sky Conference)
Adam Bock, South Dakota State, Sr., 6-1, 215 (Missouri Valley Football Conference) - 2021 Finalist
Rodney Dansby, Houston Christian, Jr., 6-0, 225 (Southland Conference) - 2022 Finalist
Jacob Dobbs, Holy Cross, Sr., 6-0, 237 (Patriot League) - 2021 Finalist
Isaac Dowling, Mercer, Jr., 5-10, 225 (Southern Conference)
David Hoage, Northern Colorado, Sr., 6-3, 245 (Big Sky Conference)
Liam Johnson, Princeton, Sr., 6-0, 220 (Ivy League)
Bryce Norman, Southeast Missouri, Jr., 6-0, 226 (Big South-OVC Football Association) - 2022 Finalist
John Pius, William & Mary, R-Jr., 6-2, 230 (CAA Football) - 2022 Finalist
Winston Reid, Weber State, Sr., 6-1, 230 (Big Sky Conference) - 2022 Finalist
Tristan Wheeler, Richmond, R-Sr., 6-2, 228 (CAA Football) - 2020 and 2022 Finalist
Antoine Williams, Western Carolina, Jr., 5-10, 205 (Southern Conference) - 2022 Finalist

Defensive Backs 
Maxwell Anderson, Weber State, Sr., 5-11, 170 (Big Sky Conference)
Khalil Baker, North Carolina Central, Sr., 6-0, 185 (Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference) - 2022 Finalist
Kameron Brown, Chattanooga, Sr., 5-9, 179 (Southern Conference)
Rex Connors, UC Davis, R-So., 6-1, 203 (Big Sky Conference)
Myles Harden, South Dakota, Sr., 6-0, 190 (Missouri Valley Football Conference)
Devin Haskins, Holy Cross, Sr., 6-3, 209 (Patriot League)
Lawrence Johnson, Southeast Missouri, Gr., 6-0, 196 (Big South-OVC Football Association)
TaMuarion Wilson, Central Arkansas, Jr., 6-2, 205 (United Athletic Conference)