Bronko Nagurski Award Winners

By The Associated Press
December 12, 2025 | 11:59 PM

Outstanding Defensive Player

2025_Jacob Rodriguez, Texas Tech

2024_Kyle Kennard, South Carolina

2023_Xavier Watts, Notre Dame

2022_Will Anderson Jr., Alabama

2021_Will Anderson Jr., Alabama

2020_Zach Collins, Tulsa

2019_Chase Young, Ohio State

2018_Josh Allen, Kentucky

2017_Bradley Chubb, North Carolina State

2016_Jonathan Allen, Alabama

2015_Tyler Matakevich, Temple

2014_Scooby Wright III, Arizona

2013_Aaron Donald, Pittsburgh

2012_Manti Te’o, Notre Dame

2011_Luke Kuechly, Boston College

2010_Da’Quan Bowers, Clemson

2009_Ndamukong Suh, Nebraska

2008_Brian Orakpo, Texas

2007_Glenn Dorsey, LSU

2006_James Laurinaitis, Ohio State

2005_Elvis Dumervil, Louisville

2004_Derrick Johnson, Texas

2003_Derrick Strait, Oklahoma

2002_Terrell Suggs, Arizona State

2001_Roy Williams, Oklahoma

2000_Dan Morgan, Miami

1999_Corey Moore, Virginia Tech

1998_Champ Bailey, Georgia

1997_Charles Woodson, Michigan

1996_Pat Fitzgerald, Northwestern

1995_Pat Fitzgerald, Northwestern

1994_Warren Sapp, Miami

1993_Rob Waldorf, Arizona

NYPD says dozens rescued from human trafficking during World Cup

By WTOP Staff
July 23, 2026 | 2:09 PM

▶ Watch Video: Inside look at security preparations for World Cup Forty-three people, including seven minors, were rescued from human traffickers during the World Cup matches in the New York City area, according to the New York City Police Department's Special Victims Unit.The rescue operations were carried out between June 11 and July 19 by specialized NYPD detectives who arrested 89 individuals."The surprise was really the outpouring of support behind the mission and the collaboration with all our partners," said Inspector Gary Marcus, commanding officer of the Special Victims Unit.Those rescued, largely the victims of sex trafficking, are now being supported with an array of social services for the victims, including food, housing and counseling.The 87 operations carried out during the World Cup have generated new leads, officials said, and law enforcement agencies are building more cases based on the investigations already underway."We have ongoing investigations now as a result of these operations," an NYPD official told CBS News.Major sporting events are known to law enforcement as hotbeds of human trafficking.Years in advance, the NYPD devoted significant resources to preparing for the World Cup. Eight matches were played at New Jersey's MetLife Stadium, including the final on Sunday."When we talk about the outreach and the prep we do, a large part of that involved visiting the known sex offenders, particularly the known human traffickers, in our registry," Marcus said. "Whether they're on parole or probation for human trafficking, we visited them to make sure they're compliant with the terms of their release, and secondly, to let them know that the NYPD is watching."The matches were held in multiple cities around the U.S., Mexico and Canada. Preparations to secure those games and prepare for crimes like human trafficking were coordinated between local, state and federal law enforcement agencies.Police departments in many locations that hosted World Cup matches have made arrests and rescues connected to human trafficking, including in Georgia, New England and Missouri. Nationally, there were more than 673 arrests on human-trafficking charges made during the World Cup, and 61 adults and 13 minors rescued, according to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

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