BATON ROUGE, La. — Southern University safety Herman Brister III has been named to the 2026 Aeneas Williams Award Preseason Watch List, adding another preseason honor for one of the Jaguars' top defensive players.
The Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame announced Brister III as one of 16 defensive backs selected to the fifth annual preseason watch list. The list recognizes some of the nation's top defensive backs in NCAA Division I HBCU football and is selected by a screening committee in partnership with DraftHBCUPlayers and the Paycom Jim Thorpe Award.
Brister III, a 6-foot-2, 205-pound redshirt junior, enters the 2026 season after back-to-back productive campaigns in Southern's secondary.
The Southern standout recorded 76 tackles last season after finishing with 62 in 2024. Brister added 1.5 tackles for loss, five pass breakups and a forced fumble in 2025 on his way to earning first-team All-Southwestern Athletic Conference honors.
His combination of size, athleticism and physical play has helped establish Brister as one of the SWAC's most reliable tacklers in the secondary and a key piece of the Jaguars' defense entering the 2026 season.
Brister is listed as one of six safeties on the Aeneas Williams Award preseason watch list and is the lone Southern player among the 16 candidates.
The Aeneas Williams Award, presented by the Chickasaw Nation, is given annually to the top defensive back in Division I HBCU football based on performance, athletic ability and character. Established in 2022, the award is named for former Southern walk-on and Pro Football Hall of Famer Aeneas Williams.
Williams developed into an NCAA Division I-AA record-setting defensive back at Southern before being selected in the third round of the 1991 NFL draft. He went on to play 14 NFL seasons, earning eight Pro Bowl selections and four All-Pro honors.
The preseason watch list is not final, with additional players eligible to be selected as semifinalists or finalists based on their performance during the season. Semifinalists are scheduled to be announced Nov. 3, followed by finalists Dec. 1 and the winner Dec. 10.
With another productive season, Brister will look to strengthen his case for national recognition while helping Southern pursue a SWAC championship,
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