DALLAS – The Coastal Carolina football duo of Josaiah Stewart and D'Jordan Strong were both named to the 2022 Bronko Nagurski Trophy watch list, the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) announced on Tuesday.
 
The Bronko Nagurski Trophy has been awarded annually since 1993 to the collegiate American football defensive player announced by the membership of the FWAA to be the best in the NCAA.
 
A total of 85 defensive standouts from 61 schools in all 10 Division I FBS conferences plus independents comprise the watch list roster. This list also includes five returning players from last season's FWAA All-America team, including 2021 award winner Will Anderson Jr. of Alabama.
 
A 2021 Freshman All-American, earning a spot on the FWAA Freshman All-America team, ESPN's 2021 College Football True Freshman All-American team, 247Sports True Freshman All-American, The Athletic's 2021 College Football Freshman All-American team, and the 2021 Pro Football Focus (PFF) All-True Freshman team, Stewart was named the 2022 Sun Belt Conference Preseason Defensive Player of the Year and earned a spot on the preseason All-Sun Belt first team earlier this week.
 
A 2021 Phil Steele All-American honorable mention selection last year as a true freshman, Stewart was named the 2021 Pro Football Network (PFN) Best Interior Defensive Lineman, Sun Belt Defensive Lineman of the Year, and Sun Belt Defensive Rookie of the Year.
 
A 2021 All-Sun Belt first team, the Massachusetts native shattered the CCU single-season sacks record with 12.5 sacks in his first collegiate season in 2021. His 12.5 sacks led the Sun Belt and were just one shy of the Sun Belt single-season record of 13.5 sacks. They also ranked fifth nationally and were the most by a true freshman in all of FBS on the year. He finished the season with 15.5 tackles-for-loss, which was the second-most in a single season in Coastal history, the most by a true freshman nationally, and ranked sixth in the Sun Belt. His 12.0 tackles-for-loss and 9.0 sacks in Sun Belt Conference play led the league.
 
Stewart recorded 43 total tackles on the year and forced three fumbles. He registered 3.5 sacks in a win over Kansas (Sept. 10) to set CCU's single-game sacks record before topping that with 4.0 sacks in the road win at Georgia Southern (Nov. 6). He also set a new CCU single-game tackles-for-loss record with 5.0 versus the Eagles.
 
A two-time All-Sun Belt first-team selection (2020 and 2021) and the 2020 Sun Belt Conference Newcomer of the Year, Strong earned a spot on the preseason All-Sun Belt first team for the second consecutive year earlier this week.
 
Named to the 2022 East-West Shrine Bowl 1000 preseason list and both the 2022 Phil Steele and Athlon Sports Preseason All-Sun Belt second teams, Strong played and started in all 13 games for the Chanticleers in the defensive backfield last season. He led the team and was tied for second in the Sun Belt with 10 pass breakups on the year, while adding 26 tackles, including 19 solo stops on the season.
 
Strong recorded seven pass breakups in conference play, which ranked sixth in the Sun Belt, and anchored the "Black Swarm" defense that was second in the Sun Belt with the fewest passing yards allowed (190.3) and fewest points allowed per game (21.6). He registered a season-high four tackles and two pass breakups in the home win over UMass (Sept. 25) and also had four tackles in the 2021 Tailgreeter Cure Bowl win over Northern Illinois (Dec. 17).
 
The FWAA and the Charlotte Touchdown Club will announce finalists for the 2022 trophy on Nov. 16 and the winner will be unveiled on Dec. 5 at the Bronko Nagurski Awards Banquet presented by LendingTree in Charlotte, N.C.
 
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 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.
 
Coastal will kick off the 2022 football season at home on Saturday, Sept. 3, versus Army at 7 p.m. ET.

2022 Coastal Carolina football season tickets are on sale now. Fans can purchase tickets online by visiting www.GoCCUsports.com/tickets or by calling the Chanticleer Athletics Ticket Office at 843-347-TIXX.

For complete coverage of CCU football, follow the Chants on social media @CoastalFootball (Twitter), facebook.com/CCUChanticleers (Facebook), @goccusports (Instagram), or visit the official home of Coastal Carolina Athletics at www.GoCCUsports.com.