Shane Hartzell Named to Buck Buchanan Award Preseason Watch List

VILLANOVA, Pa.—Senior linebacker Shane Hartzell is amongst 30 defensive gamers nationwide, together with three from CAA Football, who had been named to the Buck Buchanan Award Preseason Watch List on Wednesday afternoon. The watch record was introduced by Stats Perform for the annual award which is offered to the nationwide defensive participant of the yr in Division I FCS faculty soccer. This is the second straight yr that Villanova has had a participant named to the preliminary watch record fort the Buck Buchanan Award.
 
Hartzell is constantly being acknowledged on a nationwide degree as he enters his closing collegiate season. He was beforehand named by Stats Perform as a second workforce Preseason All-American earlier this month and was a primary workforce choice by Phil Steele. Hartzell additionally appeared on the CAA Football Preseason All-Conference Team final week. He was a primary workforce all-conference choice a yr in the past.
 
After taking part in in 4 video games throughout a redshirt freshman season in 2021, Hartzell has developed right into a mainstay on the Wildcats protection throughout his profession. He has performed in 41 video games and has tackled 249 complete tackles, together with 140 solo stops, 24.5 tackles for loss and 13 sacks. Hartzell additionally has three profession pressured fumbles and one fumble restoration to go together with an interception and 6 complete passes defended. He has registered 74 or extra tackles and 6 or extra tackles for loss in every of the previous three seasons.
 
Hartzell is coming of simply his greatest collegiate marketing campaign in 2024 when he led the workforce with 5 sacks and recorded a team-high 67 solo tackles. He wound up second on the workforce with 121 complete stops and 9.5 tackles for loss. After a profession day towards New Hampshire by which he recorded 20 complete stops, Hartzell was named the Stats Perform FCS Defensive Player of the Week and was additionally the CAA Football Defensive Player of the Week. Consistency was key for Hartzell, as he reached double digits in tackles 4 instances and was credited with seven or extra complete stops in 10 of 14 video games.
 
The Buck Buchanan Award is in its 31^st season and is called for legendary defensive lineman Junious “Buck” Buchanan, who starred at Grambling State as a part of his Hall of Fame profession. Last season, Villanova cornerback Isas Waxter was named to the award’s preseason watch record and went on to be an All-American for the 2024 season.
 
All 13 FCS conferences are represented on the preseason watch record, which incorporates seven previous finalists. More gamers can be part of the watch record earlier than a nationwide media panel selects the winner from a bunch of finalists after the common season. The Buck Buchanan Award was first offered in 1995.
 
This yr’s award shall be introduced on January 3, 2026, on the Stats Perform National Awards Presentation in Nashville, Tenn. The presentation can even embrace the winners of the Walter Payton Award (FCS Offensive Player of the Year), Jerry Rice Award (FCS Freshman Player of the Year), Eddie Robinson Award (FCS Coach of the Year), HBCU National Player of the Year and Doris Robinson Scholar-Athlete of the Year.