BOONE, N.C. ? Another day, another Appalachian State University football player added to the preseason watch list for a prestigious national award. On Tuesday, junior defensive back Mark LeGree (Columbus, Ga./Pacelli Catholic) was named one of 62 official candidates for the 2009 Bronko Nagurski Trophy, which honors college football’s top defensive player. LeGree is the only NCAA Division I FCS representative on the Nagurski Trophy’s preseason watch list.

The Nagurski Trophy is awarded by the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) and the Charlotte Touchdown Club. The trophy has been presented since 1993 and is awarded in memory of the legendary Nagurski, an All-America lineman at Minnesota from 1927-29 and a star for the Chicago Bears in the 1930s. The FWAA and the Charlotte Touchdown Club will announce five finalists for the award on Nov. 18 or 19 and the winner will be named on Dec. 7 at the annual Bronko Nagurski Trophy Banquet at the Westin Hotel in Charlotte.

LeGree notched 10 interceptions as a sophomore last season to break the 45-year-old ASU record of eight, set by Larry Harbin in 1963, and tie a SoCon record that hadn’t been matched in 33 seasons. He finished third in voting for the 2008 Buck Buchanan Award, which is presented to the nation’s top FCS defensive player.

Other notable names on the Nagurski Trophy’s preseason watch list include 2008 finalists Jerry Hughes (TCU) and George Selvie (South Florida), as well as in-state representatives Vince Oghobaase (Duke), Boo Robinson (Wake Forest), Quan Sturdivant (North Carolina), Deunta Williams (North Carolina), C.J. Wilson (East Carolina) and Willie Young (NC State).