PHILADELPHIA, Pa. – Gardner-Webb nose guard O.J. Lei'ataua Mau was named to the 2014 Buck Buchanan Award Watch List, which was announced Thursday morning by The Sports Network.

Mau (Masefau, American Samoa / Fagaitua HS) is the sixth Gardner-Webb student-athlete to appear on the Buchanan Award Watch List since 2004. The award, established in 1995, honors the top defensive player each year in the FCS. Former Gardner-Webb defensive ends Brian Johnston (9th, 2007) and Shaquille Riddick (5th, 2013) each finished in the top-10 of final balloting for the award.

The Big South Conference has a national-best three candidates in 2014, with Coastal Carolina's Quinn Backus and Liberty's Jacob Hagen also on the Buchanan list. Gardner-Webb defenders make up more than half of the league's 11 all-time appearances on the Buchanan list since the league's formation in 2002.

Mau is the lone nose guard and one of only two interior linemen among the list of 20 candidates in 2014 and has established himself as a dominant force in the middle of Gardner-Webb's 3-4 defensive scheme.

The 6-foot-2, 310-pound junior was recently named preseason FCS first-team All-America by The Sports Network and Athlon.

Mau produced at a very high level as a sophomore in 2013, earning first-team All-Big South Conference honors and All-America honors (Phil Steele) in his first season as a starter.

By season's end, Mau had collected 54 total tackles, 9.0 tackles for loss and 4.0 sacks – pacing the Big South's interior linemen in sacks and recording more than 50 percent of his tackles behind the line of scrimmage during league play.

In four games against opponents ranked in the top-25, Mau collected 21 total tackles, 5.0 tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks – often demanding and defeating double teams to help the Runnin' Bulldogs to three wins in those four meetings.

Mau was named Sports Network FCS National Defensive Player of the Week and a College Sporting News FCS Weekly All-Star following Gardner-Webb's 3-0 win over No. 8 Wofford on September 20. He collected nine tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss and a sack in that win – which marked the first time in Big South Conference history that a team had defeated nationally-ranked opponents in back-to-back weeks. Mau also played a key role in Gardner-Webb's win over No. 11 Richmond the previous week in Boiling Springs.

Mau proved to be a tough matchup again in the home finale against No. 12 Charleston Southern, putting together a stat line of six tackles, 3.0 tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks against the Buccaneers. GWU held Charleston Southern without an offensive touchdown in a 27-10 win.

The lynchpin of a vasty improved Gardner-Webb defense, Mau was part of a unit that improved 96 spots in the national total defense statistical rankings from the previous season – setting a new Big South Conference record by allowing just 296.8 yards per game. That average ranked No. 5 nationally at the end of the 2013 season.

GWU led the league in rushing defense (122.5 ypg), pass defense (174.2 ypg), pass efficiency defense (114.0 rating), opponent first downs (185), opponent third down conversion rate (32.2%) and opponent fourth down conversion rate (25.0%) – and ranked among the national leaders in those categories as well.

The Buchanan Award is named in honor of former Grambling and Kansas City Chiefs star Buck Buchanan, who earned All-America honors at Grambling and put together a Hall of Fame career with the Chiefs. One of the greatest defensive tackles of all-time, Buchanan was was named to the AFL All-Star Team or the NFL Pro Bowl eight times in his 13 seasons as a pro. He led the Chiefs to a pair of AFL titles and played a key role in Kansas City's Super Bowl IV win over the Minnesota Vikings.

Buchanan is a member of the NAIA, Kansas City Chiefs and Pro Football Halls of Fame. His #86 jersey was retired by Kansas City in 1992.

Gardner-Webb, with 16 offensive and defensive starters returning for 2014, opens its regular season on Saturday, August 30, at Furman. Kickoff is set for 7:00 pm in Greenville, S.C.

GARDNER-WEBB'S ALL-TIME BUCK BUCHANAN AWARD WATCH LIST MEMBERS
2004 – Mario Williams, Safety
2007 – Brian Johnston, Defensive End (Finalist - 9th)
2008 – Mario Brown, Linebacker
2009 – Jeffery Williams, Linebacker
2013 – Shaquille Riddick, Defensive End (Finalist - 5th)
2014 – O.J. Le'iatua Mau, Nose Guard