TOLEDO, Ohio - Toledo senior safety Maxen Hook was named to the official watch list for the 2024 Bronko Nagurski Trophy today. The award is presented annually to college football's national defensive player of the year. Hook, who is on the preseason watch list for the second consecutive season, is just one of three players from the Mid-American Conference to make the list.

Hook is a three-time All-MAC safety who had a big year in 2023 despite missing five games due to injury. He had 70 tackles and led the team with three interceptions, earning first-team All-MAC honors for the second year in a row. 

The Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) and the Charlotte Touchdown Club will announce finalists for the 2024 trophy on Nov. 20 and the winner will be unveiled Dec. 9 at the Bronko Nagurski Awards Banquet in Charlotte, N.C. The FWAA has chosen a National Defensive Player of the Year since 1993. In 1995, the FWAA named the award in honor of the legendary two-way player from the University of Minnesota. Nagurski dominated college football, then became a star for professional football's Chicago Bears in the 1930s. Bronislaw "Bronko" Nagurski is a charter member of both the College Football and Pro Football Halls of Fame.