The return of [autotag]PJ Mustipher[/autotag] to the Penn State defensive line is sure to be a big plus for the Nittany Lions this season. His return is also putting him on the radar for the Rotary Lombardi Award.
On Monday, the Rotary Club of Houston released its watch list for this season’s Rotary Lombardi Award, which is designed to honor college football’s lineman of the year. Mustipher, who opted to return for another season after suffering a season-ending injury last fall, is among the players on the watch list for the award.
Semi-finalists for the award will be announced on November 10 and four finalists will be announced on November 23. The winner of the 2022 Rotary Lombardi Award will be announced on December 7.
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Mustipher is one of 11 players from the Big Ten to appear on the watch list. The Big Ten, SEC, and Big 12 tied for the most watch list players with 11 each.
Penn State has two all-time winners of the Lombardi Award. [autotag]Bruce Clark[/autotag] was the first Nittany Lion to receive the award, doing so in 1978 at the defensive tackle position. Penn State’s second and most recent Lombardi Award winner was defensive end [autotag]Carl Nassib[/autotag], who took home the award in 2015.
Last year’s recipient of the Lombardi Award was defensive end Aidan Hutchinson of Michigan.
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