Talanoa Hufanga lands on Lott IMPACT Trophy Watch List

The Lott IMPACT Trophy is given annually to the top defensive player in the country who stands for Integrity, Maturity, Performance, Academics, Community and Teaching both on and off the football field.

With their release of their preseason watch list, you bet Talanoa Hufanga was firmly planted on the list of 42 athletes ahead of the 2020 college football season.

Hufanga wreaks havoc for opposing offenses more often than he does not, recording a career 141 tackles that include 11 TFL and has seven pass breakups and another two forced fumbles. He truly roams around and causes problems for offenses.

Though he was likely out this spring due to postseason shoulder surgery, Hufanga earned All Pac-12 Second-Team from Phil Steele and was USC’s Co-Defensive Perimeter Player of the Year last season.

He also backs that up in the community and in the classroom.

The list of players on the full watch list are:

Paulson Adebo, Stanford, CB
Carlos Basham Jr., Wake Forest, DL
Terrel Bernard, Baylor, LB
Dicaprio Bootle, Nebraska, CB-S
K.J. Britt, Auburn, LB
Andre Cisco, Syracuse, S
Kuony Deng, Cal, LB
Victor Dimukeje, Duke, DE
Paddy Fisher, Northwestern, LB
Justin Foster, Clemson, DE
Chauncey Golston, Iowa, DE-DT
Richie Grant, UCF, DB
Talanoa Hufanga, USC, S
Patrick Jones II, Pitt, DL
Kekaula Kaniho, Boise State, DB
George Karlaftis, Purdue, DE
Caleb Kelly, Oklahoma, LB
Quentin Lake, UCLA, DB
Nate Landman, Colorado, LB
Richard Lecounte, Georgia, S
Demonte Meeks, Air Force, LB
Dimitri Moore, Vanderbilt, LB
Dylan Moses, Alabama, LB
Israel Mukuamu, South Carolina, CB
Amen Ogbongbemiga, Oklahoma State, LB
Levi Onwuzurike, Washington, DE
Joseph Ossai, Texas, LB
Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah, Notre Dame, Rover
Micah Parsons, Penn State, LB
Kwity Paye, Michigan, DE
Hamilcar Rashed Jr., LB, Oregon State
Gregory Rousseau, Miami, DE
Jack Sanborn, Wisconsin, LB
Antjuan Simmons, Michigan State, LB
Jacoby Stevens, LSU, S
Darius Stills, West Virginia, DE
Derek Stingley Jr., LSU, CB
Tre Swilling, Georgia Tech, DB
Kayvon Thibodeaux, Oregon, LB
Shaun Wade, Ohio State, CB
Garret Wallow, TCU, LB-S
Marvin Wilson, Florida State, DL

USC has never had a Lott IMPACT Trophy winner since the award’s inception in 2004.