Oklahoma Linebacker Named to Bronko Nagurski Trophy Watch List

Kip Lewis started 12 games for the Sooners in 2024, recording a pick-six in each of their SEC wins.

Oklahoma linebacker Kip Lewis | Andrew Dieb-Imagn Images

After a stellar season in 2024, Oklahoma linebacker Kip Lewis earned a notable preseason honor on Tuesday.

Lewis, entering his redshirt junior season, was one of 60 college football players named to the Bronko Nagurski Trophy Watch List. The Nagurski Trophy is given annually to the nation’s top defensive player.

Lewis played in all 13 of OU’s games in 2024, starting 12 of them. He finished the year with 65 tackles, 34 solo tackles, four tackles for loss, two interceptions and a pass breakup. 

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The linebacker logged pick-sixes in each of Oklahoma’s two conference wins against Auburn and Alabama. 

The Sooners beat the Tigers 27-21, thanks largely to Lewis’ fourth-quarter, 66-yard interception returned for a touchdown. Lewis earned SEC Defensive Player of the Week honors for that game, also logging four solo tackles.

In OU’s 24-3 win against No. 7 Alabama, Lewis returned an interception for 49 yards and a touchdown in the second half, essentially sealing the Sooners’ win.

Lewis played all 13 games for OU in 2023, starting five times. He ended that season with 66 solo tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss and a sack. He played in only five games in 2022 — his true freshman year — and redshirted.

After Danny Stutsman graduated and was later selected by the New Orleans Saints in the 2025 NFL Draft, Lewis will be the leader in a linebacker room that also includes Kobie McKinzie, Sammy Omosigho, Owen Heinecke, James Nesta and Taylor Heim.

The Southeastern Conference led all leagues with 18 players named to the watch list. The Big Ten was just behind the SEC at 14. Lewis was the lone Sooner named to the Nagurski watch list.

The Football Writers Association of America selects the finalists and winner of the Nagurski Trophy every year. This year, the finalists will be unveiled in mid-November before the winner is selected at the Bronko Nagurski Awards Banquet in Charlotte on Dec. 8.

The FWAA has awarded the Nagurski Trophy every year since 1993. Two Sooners have won the award: safety Roy Williams (2001) and cornerback Derrick Strait (2003). Most recently, South Carolina edge rusher Kyle Kennard won the award in 2024.

Oklahoma opens the 2025 season against Illinois State on Saturday, Aug. 30.