DALLAS (FWAA) – Bishop Fitzgerald had two interceptions and a timely sack in USC’s 31-13 win over Michigan on Saturday and has emerged one of the top defensive backs in the country. For his performance against Michigan that now places him as the country’s interception leader and leadership that has helped push the Trojans into the upper tier of the Big Ten Conference, Fitzgerald has been selected as the Bronko Nagurski National Defensive Player of the Week for the weekend of Oct. 11 by the Football Writers Association of America.
Each week during the regular season, the FWAA has selected a Bronko Nagurski National Defensive Player of the Week since 2001. The FWAA and the Charlotte Touchdown Club will announce finalists for the 2025 Bronko Nagurski Trophy on Nov. 20. The national defensive player of the year will be chosen from those finalists who are part of the 2025 FWAA All-America Team and presented with the trophy at the Bronko Nagurski Awards Banquet on Dec. 8 at the Charlotte Convention Center.
Players may be added or removed from the Bronko Nagurski Trophy watch list during the season. If a player isn’t already on the preseason watch list, including Fitzgerald this week, each week’s honored player is added at that time. USC has not had a Bronko Nagurski Trophy winner in its past, but two former players have been finalists, most recently defensive end Tuli Tuipulotu in 2022. Linebacker Rey Maualuga was a finalist in 2008.
Fitzgerald, a 5-foot-11, 205-pound redshirt senior from Woodbridge, Va., recorded 5.0 tackles against Michigan and a key sack. With Michigan on the USC 32-yard-line in the second quarter, Fitzgerald registered a third-down sack – his first of the season – for a loss of 11 yards that took Michigan out of field goal range and forced a punt at a crucial point in the game. His two interceptions ended two other Michigan drives.
A redshirt senior transfer from NC State in his first season at USC (5-1, 3-1), Fitzgerald has quickly become a defensive leader. His five interceptions are tied for the national lead, already the most by a Trojan since Calen Bullock in 2022, with three of them occurring within USC’s red zone. He had a 71-yard pick-six in USC’s opening 73-13 win over Missouri State.
His leadership in the secondary against Michigan helped post USC’s fewest points allowed against a ranked opponent since 2016 at No. 4 Washington. Due in part by Fitzgerald stopping three Michigan drives, the Trojans gave up the fewest total yards against a ranked opponent since their 2023 game against Notre Dame, and marked USC’s biggest margin of victory against a ranked opponent since 2019 when they toppled No. 23 Stanford by 25 points.
Fitzgerald is tied for second on USC’s defense with 30 total tackles, 24 of them solo stops. Last season at NC State, Fitzgerald recorded 55 tackles, including 7.0 for loss, with three interceptions and eight breakups while appearing in all 13 games.
USC goes out of conference Saturday for its annual game against Notre Dame. The Trojans and Irish will kick off at 7:30 p.m. ET from South Bend on NBC.
The FWAA All-America Committee, after voting input from the association’s full membership, selects a 26-man All-America Team and eventually the Bronko Nagurski Trophy finalists. The Bronko Nagurski Trophy winner will be chosen from the finalists named in November. Committee members, by individual ballot, select the winner they regard as the best defensive player in college football.
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.
The Bronko Nagurski Trophy is a member of the National College Football Awards Association (NCFAA), which encompasses college football’s most prestigious awards. The NCFAA’s 25 awards have honored more than 950 recipients since 1935. This season, 13 NCFAA awards will honor national players of the week each Tuesday. For more information about the NCFAA and its award programs, visit NCFAA.org or follow on X at @NCFAA.
The Charlotte Touchdown Club is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization founded in 1990 for the purpose of promoting high school, collegiate, and professional football in the Charlotte, North Carolina region. Since its inception, the club has grown as well as diversified boasting a sponsor team of more than (80) companies. The Club's activities and services focus community attention on the outstanding Citizenship, Scholarship, Sportsmanship, and Leadership of area athletes and coaches. Through individual and corporate support, more than $3,000,000 has been raised and donated to benefit the Touchdown Club's scholarship efforts.
Coca-Cola Consolidated is the largest Coca-Cola bottler in the United States. Our purpose is to honor God in all we do, to serve others, to pursue excellence and to grow profitably. For over 121 years, we have been deeply committed to the consumers, customers and communities we serve and passionate about the broad portfolio of beverages and services we offer. We make, sell and distribute beverages of The Coca-Cola Company and other partner companies in more than 300 brands and flavors across 14 states and the District of Columbia, to approximately 60 million consumers. Headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., Coca-Cola Consolidated is traded on The Nasdaq Global Select Market under the symbol "COKE". More information about the Company is available at cokeconsolidated.com. Follow Coca-Cola Consolidated on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn.
Founded in 1941, the Football Writers Association of America consists of 1,300 men and women who cover college football. The membership includes journalists, broadcasters and publicists, as well as key executives in all the areas that involve the game. The FWAA works to govern areas that include game-day operations, major awards and its annual All-America team. For more information about the FWAA and its award programs, contact Steve Richardson at tiger@fwaa.com.