Bartlett Named Bronko Nagurski National Defensive Player of the Week
September 21, 2021 02:51 PM | Football
DALLAS, Texas – West Virginia University football redshirt sophomore bandit Jared Bartlett has been named the Bronko Nagurski National Defensive Player of the Week, as announced by the Football Writers Association of America.
Bartlett tallied a career-high five tackles and three sacks to help the Mountaineers knock off No. 15 Virginia Tech, 27-21, on Sept. 18, in Morgantown. The Suwanee, Georgia, native became the first Mountaineer to record at least three sacks in a game since Darius Stills at Baylor on Oct. 31, 2019, while also forcing and recovering a fumble for the first time in his career.
Bartlett is the first WVU player to earn the weekly honor since Karl Joseph took home the award on Sept. 8, 2015, after tallying eight tackles, three interceptions and a fumble recovery against Georgia Southern on Sept. 5, 2015.
The Mountaineers had two Bronko Nagurski Trophy finalists in program history; linebackers Grant Wiley (2003) and Canute Curtis (1996). Bartlett will be added to this season's Bronko Nagurski Trophy watch list, joining teammate Dante Stills, who was named to the list on July 27.
Bartlett's three sacks also were a career high for the 6-2, 225-pound redshirt sophomore who went to high school in Miami, Florida, and now lives in Suwanee, Georgia, and were half of WVU's six total sacks. All three came on consecutive Virginia Tech drives spanning the third and fourth quarter with West Virginia holding on to a 27-14 lead.
He helped WVU make three red-zone stops to hold off the Hokies. His season total of three sacks and 19 yards lost now leads the Mountaineers and his 3.5 TFL's are tied for the team lead and tied for fifth in the Big 12. WVU is fourth nationally in TFL's with an 10.3 per game. Bartlett has seven tackles in three games at bandit.
Bartlett also aided the Mountaineer defense in holding the Hokies to 103 rushing yards. He has appeared in 16 total games over three seasons, starting twice in 2020 as a redshirt freshman and tying for the team lead with 3.5 sacks and sixth in TFL's with 5.5.
West Virginia travels to Oklahoma for a primetime showcase Saturday, Sept. 25, against the No. 4 Sooners at 7:30 p.m. ET, on ABC.
Each Tuesday during the regular season, the FWAA has selected a Bronko Nagurski National Defensive Player of the Week since 2001. The FWAA and the Charlotte Touchdown Club will announce three finalists for the 2021 Bronko Nagurski Trophy on Nov. 17. The national defensive player of the year will be chosen from those finalists who are part of the 2021 FWAA All-America Team and presented with the trophy at the Bronko Nagurski Awards Banquet presented by LendingTree on Dec. 6 at the Charlotte Convention Center
The FWAA has chosen a National Defensive Player of the Year since 1993. In 1995, the FWAA named the award in honor of the legendary two-way player from the University of Minnesota. Nagurski dominated college football then became a star for professional football's Chicago Bears in the 1930s. Bronislaw "Bronko" Nagurski is a charter member of the College Football and Pro Football Halls of Fame.
2021 Bronko Nagurski National Defensive Players of the Week
• Weekend of Sept. 4: Jordan Davis, DE, Georgia
• Weekend of Sept. 11: Verone McKinley III, S, Oregon
• Weekend of Sept. 18: Jared Bartlett, Bandit, West Virginia
Bartlett tallied a career-high five tackles and three sacks to help the Mountaineers knock off No. 15 Virginia Tech, 27-21, on Sept. 18, in Morgantown. The Suwanee, Georgia, native became the first Mountaineer to record at least three sacks in a game since Darius Stills at Baylor on Oct. 31, 2019, while also forcing and recovering a fumble for the first time in his career.
Bartlett is the first WVU player to earn the weekly honor since Karl Joseph took home the award on Sept. 8, 2015, after tallying eight tackles, three interceptions and a fumble recovery against Georgia Southern on Sept. 5, 2015.
The Mountaineers had two Bronko Nagurski Trophy finalists in program history; linebackers Grant Wiley (2003) and Canute Curtis (1996). Bartlett will be added to this season's Bronko Nagurski Trophy watch list, joining teammate Dante Stills, who was named to the list on July 27.
Bartlett's three sacks also were a career high for the 6-2, 225-pound redshirt sophomore who went to high school in Miami, Florida, and now lives in Suwanee, Georgia, and were half of WVU's six total sacks. All three came on consecutive Virginia Tech drives spanning the third and fourth quarter with West Virginia holding on to a 27-14 lead.
He helped WVU make three red-zone stops to hold off the Hokies. His season total of three sacks and 19 yards lost now leads the Mountaineers and his 3.5 TFL's are tied for the team lead and tied for fifth in the Big 12. WVU is fourth nationally in TFL's with an 10.3 per game. Bartlett has seven tackles in three games at bandit.
Bartlett also aided the Mountaineer defense in holding the Hokies to 103 rushing yards. He has appeared in 16 total games over three seasons, starting twice in 2020 as a redshirt freshman and tying for the team lead with 3.5 sacks and sixth in TFL's with 5.5.
West Virginia travels to Oklahoma for a primetime showcase Saturday, Sept. 25, against the No. 4 Sooners at 7:30 p.m. ET, on ABC.
Each Tuesday during the regular season, the FWAA has selected a Bronko Nagurski National Defensive Player of the Week since 2001. The FWAA and the Charlotte Touchdown Club will announce three finalists for the 2021 Bronko Nagurski Trophy on Nov. 17. The national defensive player of the year will be chosen from those finalists who are part of the 2021 FWAA All-America Team and presented with the trophy at the Bronko Nagurski Awards Banquet presented by LendingTree on Dec. 6 at the Charlotte Convention Center
The FWAA has chosen a National Defensive Player of the Year since 1993. In 1995, the FWAA named the award in honor of the legendary two-way player from the University of Minnesota. Nagurski dominated college football then became a star for professional football's Chicago Bears in the 1930s. Bronislaw "Bronko" Nagurski is a charter member of the College Football and Pro Football Halls of Fame.
2021 Bronko Nagurski National Defensive Players of the Week
• Weekend of Sept. 4: Jordan Davis, DE, Georgia
• Weekend of Sept. 11: Verone McKinley III, S, Oregon
• Weekend of Sept. 18: Jared Bartlett, Bandit, West Virginia
Players Mentioned
Rich Rodriguez | Dec. 3
Wednesday, December 03
Reid Carrico | Nov. 29
Saturday, November 29
Jeff Weimer | Nov. 29
Saturday, November 29
Rich Rodriguez | Nov. 29
Saturday, November 29
