Illini LB Jake Hansen Nominated For Third Preseason Watch List

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- It’s becoming clear a lot of people are going to be interested where the No. 35 in an Illinois jersey was on the field throughout the 2020 season.

It won’t just be the upcoming opponents for Illinois looking for Jake Hansen. It’ll be award voters as well. Hansen, a senior linebacker for the Illini, was one of 98 nominations for the preseason watch list for the 2020 Bronko Nagurski Trophy. The honor marks the third award watch list placement for Hansen after he was selected for the Butkus Award and the Bednarik Award in the last week.

The Football Writers Association of America, in conjunction with the Charlotte Touchdown Club, released its preseason watch list for the Bronko Nagurski Trophy, given to college football’s best defensive player, Tuesday morning and Hansen was the only Illinois representative among 66 schools in all 10 Division I Football Bowl Subdivision conferences plus independents on a roster that includes five returning players from last season's FWAA All-America team and one from 2018.

Two of the nation's returning sack leaders, Miami defensive end Gregory Rousseau and Oregon State linebacker Hamilcar Rashed Jr., headline the list from among the six returning FWAA All-America selections: LSU cornerback Derek Stingley Jr., who tied for fifth in the nation with six interceptions last season, Penn State linebacker Micah Parsons, Pitt defensive tackle Jaylen Twyman and Stanford cornerback Paulson Adebo, who was on the second team in 2018.

Parsons was the preseason defensive player of the year selection by the Sports Illustrated Publishers All-Big Ten team, released Monday morning.

Hansen, who is expected to slide in at middle linebacker on Lovie Smith’s defense this season for the Illini, was a third-team selection by Athlon’s after the 2019 Butkus Award semifinalist had 72 tackles, 7.5 tackles for loss, one interception, seven forced fumbles and three fumble recoveries despite missing four games due to injury.

At one point last season, Hansen led the nation with seven forced fumbles and ranked second in the country with three fumble recoveries. He is the No. 11 graded linebacker in the nation by Pro Football Focus (81.1) and No. 6 in Power-5. Hansen had one of his best games in Orange & Blue during the Illini's 24-23 upset over No. 6 Wisconsin that sparked Illinois' current three-game winning streak. He was named the Walter Camp National Defensive Player of the Week and Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week after two forced fumbles against the Badgers led Illinois to one of the biggest upsets in Big Ten Conference history.

If Hansen were selected for a national award this season, he’d be the first Illinois to win one since 2011 when Whitney Mercilus won the Ted Hendricks Award, given to the nation’s top defensive end.

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. The FWAA and the Charlotte Touchdown Club will announce five finalists for the 2020 Bronko Nagurski Trophy.