A day after being selected as the American Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Week, UCF junior Terrance Plummer received the prestigious FWAA/Bronko Nagurski National Defensive Player of the Week award Tuesday.
Helping UCF improve to 4-1 on the year and 1-0 in The American, Plummer collected five tackles, a sack, two interceptions and a pair of break-ups in a 24-17 come-from-behind win at Memphis Oct. 5. His two interceptions tied a school record, which has now been accomplished 22 times since UCF’s first year in 1979. Sha’reff Rashad was the last Knight to haul in two picks in a game when he did so in 2008.
Without a sack in his first two years as a Knight, Plummer changed that against the Tigers when he took Memphis quarterback Paxton Lynch to the turf for a 7-yard sack in the second quarter. That forced a third-and-long and eventually a punt on that drive.
Later in the quarter and the clock ticking down on the first half, Memphis was itching to stretch its 7-3 lead. That was before Lynch witnessed Plummer intercept his first pass of the day on a tipped ball by in the endzone.
Memphis remained ahead until UCF stunned the home team with two touchdowns in nine seconds to grab a 24-17 advantage with 1:56 to play. The Tigers attempted a late rally of their own, reaching the UCF-6 where a halfback pass was called, and Brandon Hayes’ attempt was tipped by Clayton Geathers and into the hands of Plummer, again in the endzone for a touchback and a UCF victory.
For the season, Plummer has racked up a team-high 47 tackles and 5.0 tackles for loss. He also has three break-ups and two forced fumbles. The Orange Park native led UCF in tackles in each of the first four games this year, as he is the first player since Jason Venson in 2006-07 to lead the Knights in that department in four straight contests.
The Football Writers Association of America has sponsored a National Defensive Player of the Year award since 1993 and has named a National Defensive Player of the Week since 2001. Each Tuesday during the 2013 campaign, the FWAA All-America Committee will hand out a weekly accolade from nominations made by the 10 Division I Bowl Subdivision conferences and major independents. The Bronko Nagurski Trophy is a member of the National College Football Awards Association, which encompasses the most prestigious awards in college football.
With his performance, Plummer has been added to the 2013 Bronko Nagurski Trophy Watch List. Five finalists for the trophy will be announced by the FWAA on Nov. 21, with the winner being revealed on Dec. 9.
2013 Bronko Nagurski National Defensive Players of the Week