Tag: Lombardi Award

Three Notre Dame players named to Lombardi Award Watch List

Think any of them has a shot to win it?

Blockers are the unsung heroes of both sides of the line in football. Without them, none of the players on the other units would be allowed to do what they can do. It only makes sense that college football gives out the Lombardi Award for the best lineman every year.

The watch list for the 2024 season has come out, and three Notre Dame players are on it. Two of them of defensive tackles [autotag]Howard Cross III[/autotag] and [autotag]Rylie Mills[/autotag]. The other is [autotag]Mitchell Evans[/autotag], one of two tight ends to make the watch list. A tight end has never won this award, so Evans would make history if he went home with the hardware.

Notre Dame has had five players win this award, tied for the second most of any school. [autotag]Manti Te’o[/autotag] was the last player to win it in 2012. That being the case, the Irish are overdue for another winner, so let’s watch one of these gentlemen be the next one for them.

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Danny Stutsman named to Lombardi Award watch list

OU’s senior linebacker made another preseason award watch list on Thursday.

Watch list season rolls on, and [autotag]Danny Stutsman[/autotag]’s added another accolade to the ever-growing list of preseason honors for the senior linebacker.

This time, Stutsman was named to the Lombardi Award watch list. “This prestigious accolade continues to honor the Outstanding College Football Lineman, whether on offense or defense, who displays exceptional performance and ability and embodies the character and discipline that Vince Lombardi championed throughout his life,” said the Lombardi Award website.

Stutsman heads into 2024 as one of the best off-ball linebackers in college football. He’s been named to the USA TODAY Sports, CBS Sports and ESPN All-American teams. He was a first-team All-SEC selection by the media and has been named to the Butkus, Bednarik, Nagurski, and Walter Camp Player of the Year watch lists.

Stutsman was also ranked the No. 32 player in the country by ESPN in their top 100 players released this week.

Three Sooners have previously been honored with the award. [autotag]Lee Roy Selmon[/autotag] first won the award back in 1975. [autotag]Tony Casillas[/autotag] earned the distinction in 1985, and [autotag]Tommie Harris[/autotag] took home the trophy in 2003.

Ohio State, Nebraska, and Notre Dame are the only programs with more Lombardi Award winners than the Oklahoma Sooners.

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Shemar Turner and Nic Scourton named to the Lombardi Award Preseason Watchlist

Texas A&M defensive linemen Shemar Turner and Nic Scourton to the Lombardi Award Preseason Watchlist

In the words of DJ Kalid, “another one”. Shemar Turner and Nic Scourton continue to rack up preseason award acknowledgments. On Thursday, the Lombardi committee named both defensive linemen to the Lombardi Award Preseason Watchlist. The last Texas A&M football player to earn the award was Texas A&M Hall of Famer Dat Nguyen.

This prestigious accolade continues to honor the Outstanding College Football Lineman, whether on offense or defense, who displays exceptional performance and ability and embodies the character and discipline that Vince Lombardi championed throughout his life.

Turner tallied 33 tackles, 6.0 sacks, 10.5 TFLs, and a blocked pair of kicks. He also finished the season with an All-SEC Second Team selection. Scourton recorded 50 tackles, 10.0 sacks, 15 TFLs, and finished the season with an All-Big Ten Second Team selection after his final season with Purdue.

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Danny Stutsman named Lombardi Award semifinalist

Danny Stutsman named a semifinalist to a prestigious defensive award.

There is no question the Oklahoma Sooners defense is much improved from a season ago. A big reason is the step linebacker [autotag]Danny Stutsman[/autotag] has taken in Year 2 under Brent Venables.

Stutsman leads the team with 73 tackles and 11.5 tackles for loss. He also has 2 sacks and an interception. He ranks 26th in the nation in tackles per game. He was in the top 10 for most of the season but fell out after leaving last week’s game early.

On Wednesday, his performance this season was honored as he was named one of 12 semifinalists for the [autotag]Lombardi Award[/autotag].

The Lombardi Award is given each year to the college football offensive or defensive lineman or linebacker who exemplifies the character and discipline of NFL Hall of Fame head coach Vince Lombardi in addition to outstanding performance on the field.

To even be considered for the Lombardi Award, a player must be a down lineman on offense or defense, setting up no further than 10 yards to the left or right of the ball at the time of the snap, or a linebacker on defense setting up no more than five yards deep from the line of scrimmage.

Former Sooners [autotag]Lee Roy Selmon[/autotag] (1975), [autotag]Tony Casillas[/autotag] (1985) and [autotag]Tommie Harris[/autotag] (2003) have been honored with the award.

The finalists for the Lombardi will be announced on Nov. 15, 2023. Oklahoma’s best defensive player can continue to take a step toward postseason honors with a big game in [autotag]Bedlam[/autotag].

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Linebacker Luke Reimer named to the Lombardi Award Preseason Watchlist

Another Husker football player was named to the preseason award watchlist.

Another Husker football player was named to the preseason award watchlist. Linebacker Luke Reimer, who’s entering his final season of play, was named to the Lombardi Award Preseason Watchlist.

Named after Vince Lombardi, the award honors an outstanding college football lineman, offense or defense, who in addition to outstanding performance and ability, best exemplifies the character and discipline of Vince Lombardi.

Five Huskers received the award in the 49 years the honor’s been active. The last Nebraska player to win the award was Ndamukong Suh. 

Reimer is now one of a few Huskers to be named to a preseason award watchlist joining Jeff Sims, who was named to the Davey O’Brien Award earlier this month.

The Ashland native is entering his final season at Nebraska with a big resume. Through his last two seasons, Reimer racked up 195 tackles, 13 passes defended, 9.5 TFLs, three forced fumbles, two sacks and two interceptions.

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Husker linebacker named to awards watch list

A Nebraska linebacker has been named to a preseason awards watch list.

A Nebraska linebacker has been named to a preseason awards watch list. Luke Reimer was one of 80 players named to the Lombardi Award watch list.

The Lombardi Award is given each year to the college football player that best embodies the values and spirit of NFL head coach Vince Lombardi. To be eligible for the award, you must be a down lineman on offense or defense, or linebacker.

Last season, Reimer appeared in ten games making 86 total tackles. He currently has 245 career tackles which rank 15th in Nebraska history.

The linebacker was also one of several Huskers to be awarded single-digit numbers. He’ll be wearing the No. 4 jersey. Reimer previously held the No. 28 jersey.

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Four Ohio State football players named to the Lombardi Award watch list

More Buckeyes on a watch list. You don’t say #GoBucks

The preseason honors keep coming for the [autotag]Ohio State football team[/autotag].

It seems as if every day that another award puts out their watch list, and with it, another day where multiple Buckeyes have the potential to bring some hardware back home to Columbus.

Today, it was the [autotag]Lombardi Award[/autotag], given out annually to the top lineman in college football. The last Ohio State star to win the award was linebacker [autotag]A.J. Hawk[/autotag] back in 2005. The first winner of the award was Buckeye great [autotag]Jim Stillwagon[/autotag] in 1970.

Find out below which four current Buckeyes made the watch list along with who has the best chance to break the Ohio State drought.

Lombardi Award watch list includes trio of Nittany Lions

Will one of these three players become Penn State’s third all-time Lombardi Award winner?

Just when you thought we were done looking over college football award watch lists, the Rotary Club of Houston released this year’s watch list for the Lombardi Award. And on it were the names of three of Penn State’s top players for the upcoming college football season.

Linebacker [autotag]Abdul Carter[/autotag], offensive tackle [autotag]Olumuyiwa Fashanu[/autotag], and defensive end [autotag]Chop Robinson[/autotag] were among the players listed on the preseason watch list for the Lombardi Award. The Lombardi Award is presented annually to college football’s top lineman who exemplifies the values and character of former Green Bay Packers head coach Vince Lombardi. Linebackers are eligible for the award as well as long as they line up no more than five yards deep from the line of scrimmage.

Fashanu made a somewhat surprising decision to return to Penn State for one more year of college football. Projected by many to be a likely first-round draft pick in the 2023 NFL draft, Fashanu’s decision to return was a huge boost for the Penn State offensive line in 2023. Fashanu still projects to be a first-round draft pick in 2024, and some draft analysts believe he could be a high first-round pick.

Fashanu also appears on the watch lists for the Walter Camp Player of the Year Award and the Outland Trophy.

Carter started six games and played in all 13 games for Penn State in 2022. He earned All-Big Ten second-team honors and was a freshman All-American for the FWAA. He led Penn State with 10.5 tackles for loss last season and he finished fourth in the Big Ten with 6.5 sacks last season.

Carter has also appeared on the watch lists for the Bednarik Award,  Butkus Award, Bronko Nagurski Trophy, and the Lott IMPACT Trophy.

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Robinson transferred to Penn State from Maryland and he quickly asserted himself as a playmaker on the Penn State defensive line. Robinson appeared in 12 games and recorded 10 tackles for a loss with 5.5 sacks. He earned team defensive player of the week honors three times last season, including in the Rose Bowl against Utah.

Robinson also appears on the watch list for the Bednarik Award and the Bronko Nagurski Award.

Penn State has two all-time winners of the Lombardi Award. Defensive tackle Bruce Clark was the first to do so in 1978. Decades later, Carl Nassib became the second Lombardi Award winner in school history.

Last year’s winner of the Lombardi Award was Alabama linebacker Will Anderson Jr. Michigan defensive end Aidan Hutchinson was the most recent Big Ten player to win the Lombardi Award, doing so in 2021.

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ChatGPT ranks top 10 offensive linemen in Notre Dame history

How many of these players do you remember?

Talk to any back who’s had a great football game, and they almost always will give credit to their offensive linemen. Those are the guys who make every explosive offensive play possible. They will do whatever it takes to hold off the attacking defense. They seldom get any glory compared to those backs and receivers, but no offense can function without them.

While every college football blocker is good, some are just so much better than others. So in light of that, we’ve asked AI writing tool ChatGPT to list what it believes are the 10 best to ever block for Notre Dame offenses. It doesn’t matter which position they played. They just have to have excelled at whatever it was.

This concludes us putting ChatGPT to work ranking Notre Dame players by offensive position. We’ve already ranked ChatGPT’s 10 best quarterbacks, running backs, receivers and tight ends. Now, we look at the offense’s unsung heroes. Here they are with the entries edited for accuracy:

PJ Mustipher named on Rotary Lombardi Award watch list

Penn State’s PJ Mustipher is one of 11 Big Ten players on this year’s watch list for the Lombardi Award.

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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