Add another accolade to Syracuse Orange defensive end Brandon Sharpe's wall of, uh, accolades. After taking home Big East Defensive Player of the Week honors, he was named the FWAA/Bronko Nagurski National Defensive Player of the Week following a performance that included a career-high seven tackles, four sacks and six tackles for 45 yards in losses.
That's not all. By winning the weekly award, Sharpe also gets a special bonus:
Sharpe will now be added to the 2012 Bronko Nagurski Trophy Watch List. Five finalists for the Bronko Nagurski Trophy will be announced by the Football Writers Association of America on Nov. 15. The winner will be revealed on Dec. 3 during a banquet that the Charlotte Touchdown Club sponsors at the Westin Hotel in Charlotte, N.C. Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly will be the keynote speaker at the banquet.
Sharpe was also named CFPA National Defensive Player of the Week and the CFPA National Defensive Lineman of the Week. If there's an award for defensive excellence, its belongs to Brandon Sharpe this week.