SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Wofford safety C.J. Coombes is one of 30 players named to the preseason watch list for the 2025 Buck Buchanan Award, presented annually to the national defensive player of the year in Division I FCS college football by Stats Perform.
 
The 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.
 
Coombes, a sophomore from Bellefonte, Delaware, started all 12 games last season at safety. He finished second on the team in tackles with 88 and added five tackles for loss and an interception to earn SoCon All-Freshman team honors. He was a finalist for the Jerry Rice Award and finished 11^th in the voting. He was named to the FCS Freshman All-America teams by Stats Perform, FCS Central and Phil Steele. During the 2025 preseason he has earned second team All-America and first team All-SoCon honors.
 
All 13 FCS conferences are represented on the watch list, which includes seven past finalists. Coombes is one of three players from the Southern Conference on the watch list, including Nahil Perkins (Samford) and Andrew Zock (Mercer). This season's recipient will be announced at the Stats Perform National Awards Banquet on Jan. 3, 2026, in Nashville, Tennessee.
 
The Terriers began practice on Wednesday morning. Single game and season tickets are available by calling 864-597-4091 or visiting www.woffordterriers.com/tickets.