Staten Island, NY – Graduate student
Titus Leo of the Wagner College football team has been named to the Watch List for the Buck Buchanan Award, which Stats Perform presents to the national defensive player of the year in college football's Division I subdivision.
Leo was also named a Preseason All-Northeast Conference (NEC) selection at the league's virtual Media Day on Wednesday.
Sacred Heart was tabbed the favorite to again raise the NEC trophy for a seventh time at season's end. The Pioneers received five-of-eight possible first-place votes to claim the top spot in this season's NEC Preseason Coaches' Poll, followed by Duquesne, Saint Francis U, Central Connecticut, and Merrimack. LIU and Wagner were tied for sixth in the poll, with Stonehill rounding out the poll.
Just last week, Leo was named to the STATS Perform FCS Preseason All-America Team.
Leo checked in as a Second Team selection after earning a multitude of postseason awards last season. Leo is one of four Northeast Conference (NEC) players to be recognized, joining Sacred Heart's Malik Grant (RB, Second Team), Kevin Peprah (DL, Third Team), and Brian McNamara (LS, Third Team).
Following the 2021 season, Leo was named a Stats Perform FCS Third All-American, First Team FCS All-American by HERO Sports, and Third Team All-American by Phil Steele.
After earning his Bachelor's Degree in Sociology in May, Leo has re-enrolled at Wagner, where he is pursuing a Master's Degree in Business Administration.
Leo was also named the Northeast Conference (NEC) Defensive Player of the Year for the second consecutive season. No player has ever won the NEC Defensive Player of the Year award three times.
The senior finished the 2021 regular season as one of the best defensive players in the nation, as he ranked eighth in the nation and first in the NEC in tackles for loss with 1.7 per game. Leo also finished third in the NEC with seven sacks and led the Seahawks with 71 total tackles.
This marked the fourth straight season a Seahawk has won the highest honor for a defensive player in the NEC, as Leo follows Super Bowl LV Champion and former All-American
Cam Gill, who won the award in 2018 and 2019 and was a HERO Sports FCS Second Team All-American in 2019.
Wagner is the first school in NEC history to win four consecutive NEC Defensive Player of the Year awards. Leo, Gill and defensive lineman Bill Sommers, who earned the distinction in 1996, are the only Wagner players to earn NEC Defensive Player of the Year honors.
Leo was also named a finalist for the STATS FCS Buck Buchanan Award, presented annually to the nation's top defensive player.
In Wagner's homecoming loss to Delaware State, Leo compiled 17 tackles and 5.5 tackles for loss, including two sacks. Leo recorded at least five tackles in seven games for the Seahawks, while recording at least one tackle for loss on eight different occasions.
The Seahawks will open the 2022 season against Fordham on September 1 at 6:00 pm.
