Ole Miss Football's Suntarine Perkins Named to Preseason Nagurski Trophy Watch List

DALLAS – Ole Miss football junior linebacker Suntarine Perkins has been named to the preseason watch list for the Bronko Nagurski Trophy, as announced by the Football Writers Association of America on Tuesday morning.

The Raleigh, Mississippi native is one of 60 defensive standouts and 21 linebackers nationally, as well as one of 18 players overall from the SEC to make the Nagurski preseason list.

Perkins also stands as one of six top-15 sack leaders from a year ago to make the preseason watch list, with his 10.5 sacks as a sophomore finishing the 2024 campaign ranked tied for 10th in the FBS.

Perkins, already a preseason All-American by both Walter Camp (second-team) and Phil Steele (fourth-team) and a second-team media All-SEC selection, lit up the stat sheet for the powerful Rebel defense as a sophomore in 2024.

Perkins helped contribute to team program records in sacks (52) and tackles for loss (120), which both led the nation, ranking fourth on the team with 60 tackles while tying for the team lead in both TFL (14.0) and sacks (10.5).

Those 10.5 sacks ranked tied for second in Ole Miss single-season history, and his 14.0 TFL ranked tied for 10th all-time.

His most notable game last fall came against Oklahoma, where he notched 4.0 sacks – the most by a Rebel defender in a single game since 1993. In two years as a Rebel, Perkins owns 98 total tackles, 19.5 TFL and 14.0 sacks across 26 games played and 10 starts.

The FWAA and the Charlotte Touchdown Club will announce four finalists for the 2025 Bronko Nagurski Trophy in mid-to-late November, and the winner will be revealed at the Bronko Nagurski Awards Banquet on Dec. 8 in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Players may be added or removed from the watch list during the course of the season. As in previous years, the FWAA will announce a Bronko Nagurski National Defensive Player of the Week each Tuesday this season.

If not already on the watch list, each week's honored player will be added at that time.

The FWAA All-America Committee, after voting input from the association's full membership, selects a 26-man All-America Team and eventually the Bronko Nagurski Trophy finalists.

Committee members, by individual ballot, select the winner they regard as the best defensive player in college football.

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 the Chicago Bears in the 1930s. Bronislaw "Bronko" Nagurski is a charter member of both the College Football and Pro Football Halls of Fame.

The Bronko Nagurski Trophy is a member of the National College Football Awards Association (NCFAA), which encompasses college football's most prestigious awards.

The NCFAA's 25 awards have honored more than 950 recipients since 1935.

Sixteen NCFAA members are unveiling preseason watch lists over a two-week period as the association spearheads a coordinated effort to promote each award's preseason candidates. Following is the remaining 2025 preseason watch list calendar:

Wed., July 30: Paycom Jim Thorpe Award/Butkus Award
Thu., July 31: Paul Hornung Award/Allstate Wuerffel Trophy
Fri., Aug. 1: Lou Groza Award/Ray Guy Award
Mon., Aug. 4: Walter Camp Award
Tue., Aug. 5: Doak Walker Award
Wed., Aug. 6: Biletnikoff Award
Thu., Aug. 7: Davey O'Brien Award
Fri., Aug. 8: Mackey Award/Rimington Trophy
Mon., Aug. 11: Bednarik Award