Elon, N.C. – Elon University All-American safety
Caleb Curtain has been named to the initial 30-man preseason Buck Buchanan Award Watch List. The Buck Buchanan Award is presented annually to the national defensive player of the year in Division I FCS college football.
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Curtain is one of 12 defensive backs on the watch list and one of just three players from the Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) honored.
Curtain was named Stats Perform First Team Preseason All-American earlier this week and was selected as the CAA Football Preseason Defensive Player of the Year last week. He led Elon with 80 tackles a year ago and led CAA Football with four interceptions. His 50-yard interception return for a touchdown against Wake Forest in the season opener signaled Curtain's status as one of the best defensive players in FCS Football.
Earlier this summer, Curtain was named second team preseason All-American by FCS Football Central and he was also selected as a nominee for the Allstate AFCA Good Works Team. Following a strong 2023 season, he was named second team All-American by Stats Perform, the AFCA, the Associate Press and Phil Steele.
A media panel will select the winner of the 2024 Buck Buchanan Award after the regular season. Past Buchanan recipients include Dexter Coakley, Rashean Mathis, Jared Allen and Arthur Moats.
While Elon has never had a winner of the Buck Buchanan Award, the Phoenix has had a finalist five times, most recently when Marcus Hillman finished fourth in the voting in 2022. Greg Liggs, Jr. placed 16
th in 2019 and Warren Messer was 10
th in 2017. Chad Nkang was a finalist in both 2005 and 2006, placing fifth and eighth respectively.
As a team, Elon returns 14 starters in 2024 (seven on offense and seven on defense) from a team that tied for fourth in the CAA Football standings a year ago. The Phoenix is the only program in the CAA to finish over .500 in the league standings in each of the past three years and is 10-1 at home in its last 11 games inside Rhodes Stadium. Elon has defeated four ranked teams at home during that stretch.
Elon opens a rare 12-game schedule at Duke on Friday, Aug. 30 at 7:30 p.m. That game will be televised nation-wide on the ACC Network. After a road game rematch at North Carolina Central on Sept. 7, Elon begins a four-game homestand. The Phoenix hosts Western Carolina in the home opener Sept. 14 at 6:00 p.m. before hosting ETSU seven days later at 6:00 p.m. CAA action begins Sept. 28 with a home game against Richmond (Family Weekend), followed by a bye week. After the weekend off, Elon will host New Hampshire Oct. 12 at 2:00 p.m.
The rest of Elon's home schedule includes Campbell on Nov. 2 at 2:00 p.m. for Homecoming and Maine on Nov. 16 at 2:00 p.m. for Senior Day.
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