Get ready. It’s always a sign of college football getting closer in the rearview mirror when the parade of watchlists come out for the slew of awards we see in the sport. And wouldn’t you know it, the LOTT Impact Trophy, given to “college football’s defensive best in character and performance” annually has released its 42-man preseason watchlist for the upcoming 2020 season. It is awarded to the player that best demonstrates “integrity, maturity, performance, academics, community and Tenacity.”
And as you would expect, Ohio State has a representative on the list with the inclusion of cornerback Shaun Wade. The Buckeyes have had just one winner since its inception in 2004 when linebacker James Laurinaitis took the award home at the end of the 2008 season.
Wade will be a fourth-year junior who flirted with heading to the NFL early last season, but then made a decision to come back for one more year. He should be the cornerstone of an Ohio State secondary that lost three players to the 2020 NFL Draft — two of them first-rounders in Damon Arnette and Jeff Okudah.
For 16 years, we've championed the belief that #CharacterCounts.
It's our honor and privilege to recognize these 42 individuals: men of Integrity, Maturity, Performance, Academics, Community and Tenacity.
Introducing our 2020 Watch List.https://t.co/9D5qaz0Zf3
— Lott IMPACT Trophy (@TheLottTrophy) June 4, 2020
We’ll keep an eye on all the watchlists as they are announced, and as more news is made available on the plans to have college football this fall so they can all be handed out.
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