McLean County Times

Illinois State senior linebacker Amir Abdullah has been named to the preseason watch list for the 2024 Buck Buchanan Award, which is presented annually to the national defensive player of the year in Division I FCS college football.

The 30th anniversary season of the Stats Perform FCS Buck Buchanan Award begins with a 30-player preseason watch list. The award is named after legendary defensive lineman Junious "Buck" Buchanan, who had a distinguished career at Grambling State and in the Hall of Fame. All 13 FCS conferences are represented on the watch list, which includes ten past finalists like Abdullah. He aims to become the second Redbird to earn this honor following Zeke Vandenburgh's win in 2022.

Abdullah finished ninth in voting for the 2023 Buck Buchanan Award and earned FCS All-America honors from Stats Perform, FCS Football Central, the Associated Press, and Phil Steele in his first season with Illinois State. The Chicago native was an All-MVFC First-Team and All-Newcomer Team selection at linebacker. He ranked sixth in the FCS in sacks per game (0.86) and twenty-sixth nationally in tackles for loss per game (1.3).

He started all 11 games at linebacker, tying for the league lead with 9.5 sacks while leading the MVFC with 14.0 tackles for loss. Abdullah ranked fourth on his team with 64 total tackles (34 solo) and was credited with two forced fumbles, a pass breakup, and one interception during the season. He recorded a season-high of 11 tackles against Youngstown State and had three games with two or more sacks, including a performance with 2.5 sacks and 3.5 tackles for loss against Eastern Illinois. Abdullah concluded the season by being named MVFC Newcomer of the Week after accumulating nine tackles, a sack, 1.5 tackles for loss, and an interception against Murray State.

2024 Redbird Football season tickets are available for purchase online at GoRedbirds.com/Tickets or by contacting the ISU Athletics Ticket Office at (309) 438-8000.

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