CHICAGO, Ill. - For the second straight season,
Ty French earned a spot on the STATS Perform 2023 Buck Buchanan Award, presented by FedEx Ground, Preseason Watch List, announced on Thursday, Aug. 3.
The Buck Buchanan Award is given annually to the national defensive player of the year in Division I FCS college football. All 15 FCS conferences, which combine to form 13 leagues, are represented on the watch list, including 13 past finalists.
French continues to haul in preseason honors. The Moultrie, Ga. native previously earned a spot as a First Team All-American this preseason from STATS Perform, and Second Team All-American honors, along with the Preseason Big South-OVC Defensive Player of the Year Award from Phil Steele. He was also named to the Preseason Big South-OVC All-Conference Team by The Bluebloods.
French was also a finalist for the Ted Hendricks Award last season, and was the first Runnin' Bulldog to be voted Big South Defensive Player of the Year since 2008. He finished the regular-season as the Big South leader in sacks with 11.5 -- setting the league single-season record. He tallied 72 total tackles, 15 tackles-for-loss, one interception and one forced fumble. French is ninth nationally in sacks per game (0.88) and 44th in TFL per contest (1.2). French had 4.5 sacks in three games vs. FBS opponents this season and held a streak of three-straight games with 2.0 sacks. During the five-game Big South season, French was tops with 5.5 sacks, ranked sixth with 6.5 TFL, and amassed 23 total tackles. He posted a tackle-for-loss in ten of 13 appearances, as well as a sack in nine outings.
French enters the season just one sack away from tying Chima Uzowihe (2012-15) for most sacks in Big South football history (25.0). He needs five sacks to tie GWU Hall of Famer and 1996 Super Bowl Champion Gabe Wilkins for the school record (29.0).
French was a finalist for the award last season, one of 30 finalists across all of FCS football. Zeke Vandenburgh of Illinois State was named the winner of the 2022 Buck Buchanan Award last year.
French is one of four players from the Big South-OVC Football Association to earn a spot on the preseason watch list, joining Daylan Dotson of UT Martin, and Lawrence Johnson and Bryce Norman of Southeast Missouri State.
More players can join the watch list during the regular season before a national media panel selects the winner from a group of finalists. First awarded in 1995, the Buchanan includes past recipients such as Dexter Coakley, Rashean Mathis, Jared Allen and Arthur Moats.
