PHILADELPHIA, Pa. – Elon University junior inside linebacker
Chad Nkang (Hyattsville, Md./Northwestern H.S.) was listed as a Buck Buchanan Award finalist when The Sports Network distributed the 2005 ballots for its annual NCAA-IAA football honors Monday afternoon.
The ballots consist of the 2005 finalists for the Walter Payton Award (recognizing the country’s offensive player of the year), the Buck Buchanan Award (recognizing the country’s defensive player of the year) and the Eddie Robinson Award (recognizing the country’s coach of the year). Each list is comprised of 16 finalists.
The presentations will take place Dec. 15 at the 19th Annual NCAA-IAA College Football Awards Dinner in Chattanooga, Tenn., on the eve of the NCAA-IAA national championship game.
The 6-0, 214-pound Nkang paces both the Southern Conference and the NCAA-IAA with 152 total tackles – a nation-best 13.82 tackles per contest. He leads the SoCon and ranks fourth in the country with 73 solo tackles – 6.64 per game. Nkang is tied for first in the league and tied for eighth in the nation with 18.5 tackles for loss – 1.68 per contest.
This season, both The Sports Network and Don Hansen’s National Weekly Football Gazette named Nkang their NCAA-IAA Defensive Player of the Week once. He also earned Southern Conference Defensive Player of the Week status once and Southern Conference Defensive Player of the Month distinction twice this fall.
2005 Buck Buchanan Award Finalists
Maurice Bennett, LB, Lafayette
Antoine Bullock, DE, Duquesne
Jeff Charleston, DE, Idaho State
Zak DeOssie, LB, Brown
Reed Doughty, S, Northern Colorado
Justin Durant, LB, Hampton
Brady Fosmark, DE, Weber State
William Freeman, LB, Furman
Chris Gocong, DE, Cal Poly
Brent Hawkins, DE, Illinois State
Brian Hulea, LB, Villanova
Shannon James, S, Massachusetts
Jay McCareins, DB, Princeton
Marques Murrell, DE, Appalachian State
Chad Nkang, LB, Elon
Cameron Siskowic, LB, Illinois State
– ELON –