No one collected more tackles in the Football Championship Subdivision than Northwestern State junior linebacker Blake Gotcher.
 
Gotcher’s remarkable regular season in which he recorded double-figure tackles in 11 of 12 games has earned him a nod as a finalist for the Buck Buchanan Award, which is given annually to the top defensive player in the FCS and is presented by Stats Perform.
 
Gotcher, a 6-foot-1, 225-pound product of Frisco Lone Star High School and a Lamar transfer, is one of four Southland Conference players named to the list. The other three Southland members on the 35-man finalist ballot are Nicholls linebacker Eli Ennis, East Texas A&M linebacker Brandon Tucker and UIW defensive back Mason Chambers.
 
In his first season at Northwestern, Gotcher recorded 162 total tackles, which ranks fourth in school single-season history and included a 23-tackle, two-sack, one forced fumble performance against Prairie View A&M on Sept. 7. For that performance, Gotcher was named the Southland Conference Defensive Player of the Week and honorable mention FCS National Defensive Player of the Week by Stats Perform.
 
Gotcher’s tackle total led all qualifying FCS players by 29 and was 21 ahead of Tucker’s runner-up total in the Southland.
 
In addition to his tackle total, Gotcher had 4.5 sacks – two each against Prairie View A&M and two against Weber State – and 10 tackles for loss for 31 yards. He added two forced fumbles, two pass breakups, an interception he returned 24 yards against McNeese on Nov. 16 and a quarterback hurry.
 
Gotcher was incredibly consistent, recording at least 16 tackles in five games and 12 or more tackles in eight of his 12 games. He is Northwestern’s first finalist for the Buchanan Award since linebacker Derek Rose in 2011.
 
The Buchanan Award winner will be chosen by a national voting panel and will be recognized at the Stats Perform FCS National Awards Banquet in Frisco, Texas, on Jan. 4.