Murray State University Athletics
Williams Named a Buchanan Award Finalist
11/20/2008 6:00:00 AM | Football
Murray State senior linebacker Nathan Williams has been named one of 16 finalists for the 2008 Buck Buchanan Award, announced The Sports Network on Thursday. The Buchanan Award is given to the nation's top defensive player in the FCS.
Voting for the award will take place next week with the winner of the 14th Buck Buchanan Award will be announced at the annual Sports Network Awards banquet on Dec. 18 in Chattanooga, Tenn. at the Marriott Hotel. The Walter Payton Award, which goes to the top player in FCS, and the Eddie Robinson Award, which is bestowed upon the top coach, will also be awarded on the eve of the NCAA Division I football championship game.
Williams, who was added to the Buchanan list at midseason, leads all levels of football with 167 tackles. He leads the FCS with 15.18 tackles per game, 75 solo tackles and 6.82 tackles per game. He also is tied for 19th nationally with 0.73 sacks per game and tied for 59th with 1.18 tackles-for-loss per game.
The Murray, Ky. native has recorded double digits in tackles in eight of the 11 games and has at least 15 tackles in seven of those games. Earlier this season against Illinois State, Williams recorded an FCS-best 23 tackles. His 17 assisted tackles in that game was a then-NCAA record.
In the Racers last game against Eastern Kentucky, Williams recorded 17 tackles to set a new MSU single-season record for tackles, breaking the old record set by Donald White in 1981. He ranks fourth on the MSU all-time tackles list with 384 and is tied for 11th on the career sack list. He is currently the career active leader in tackles (384) and solo tackles (207) in the FCS.
Williams and six other players will close out their Racer careers on Saturday when MSU plays host to Tennessee State. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. at Stewart Stadium.
