CHICAGO, Ill. – Drake University senior linebacker Sean Allison and Marist University sophomore safety Nate Robinson Jr. represent the Pioneer Football League as two of 30 finalists for the  Buck Buchanan Award, which honors the Defensive Player of the Year in the Football Championship Subdivision.

Allison has totaled 120 tackles, including 59 solo stops, eight tackles for loss, two sacks, a pair of interceptions, and three pass break-ups. He is No. 6 among FCS defenders in tackles per game (10.9) and No. 8 in solo tackles per game (5.36).

Robinson ranks sixth in the FCS in passes defended (15 total, 1.25 per game), with 11 pass break-ups and four interceptions. His 15 passes defended were the most by a Red Fox in a season since 2002. 

The Buck Buhanan Award, in its 31st season, is named for legendary defensive lineman Junious “Buck” Buchanan, who starred at Grambling State as part of his Hall of Fame career. Past Buchanan recipients include Dexter Coakley, Rashean Mathis and Jared Allen. Central Arkansas’ David Walker was last season’s winner.

All 13 FCS conferences are represented by a finalist. The winner, to be selected by a national voting panel, will be announced at the Stats Perform FCS National Awards Show on Jan. 3 in Nashville, Tennessee.

About the Pioneer Football League

The Pioneer Football League is the only non-scholarship, football-only NCAA Football Championship Subdivision conference. The PFL is a truly national conference with members on each coast and throughout the nation’s heartland. Butler University, the University of Dayton, Drake University, and Valparaiso University were among the league’s founding members in 1993, with Davidson College, Marist College, Morehead State University, Presbyterian College, the University of San Diego, the University of St. Thomas, and Stetson University joining to form the current 11-team league.