BOONE, N.C. — App State's
Demetrius Taylor has made the watch list for the Ted Hendricks Award, which honors the top defensive end in college football.
A junior from Miami, Taylor is one of two players from the Sun Belt Conference on the list. He has 5.0 sacks, 11.0 tackles for loss, three forced fumbles, four quarterback hurries, four pass breakups, one blocked punt, one blocked field goal, one interception, one fumble return for a touchdown and 34 total tackles this season.
The two blocked kicks have him tied for the FBS lead, and his dominant performance in a 34-31 win at North Carolina led to multiple national defensive player of the week honors. He became the first FBS player this millennium with 2.5 sacks, two forced fumbles, a fumble return for a touchdown and an interception in the same game.
Taylor has played a key role in other games as well, as he had a sack, a stop on a fourth-and-goal rush from the 1-yard line and a punt-forcing QB hurry in the 17-7 road win against a Louisiana team that's 8-2. He also set up a short touchdown by forcing a fumble on a sack against Charlotte and made five tackles in the win at South Carolina.
