Aug. 28, 2007
ATLANTA – With the 2007 college football season set to begin, 65 players have been added to the Rotary Lombardi Award Watch List, including Georgia Tech linebacker Philip Wheeler. The 38th annual Rotary Lombardi Award, presented by Wachovia, honoring the top lineman in college football and benefiting the American Cancer Society, will be presented in Houston on December 5 at the Hilton Americas Hotel.
Wheeler, a senior from Columbus, Ga., led the Yellow Jackets with 9.0 sacks and 14.5 trackles for loss. He and the Jackets will open the season this Saturday at Notre Dame at 3:30 p.m. ET.
The new players have been added to the preliminary watch list announced in March based on various pre-season honors. Although the 108 players now on the Watch List are representative of the nation’s top football players, the list is not intended to serve as the actual ballot when first round voting begins in late September.
As recently as 2005, Elvis Dumervil, one of the final four finalists that year, was not included on the Watch List at the start of the season. Any player meeting the basic award criteria – a down lineman on either side of the ball including tight ends, and linebackers who line up within five yards of the ball – is eligible to receive votes.
Unlike last year when the list was fairly evenly divided, this year’s list has more defensive players than offensive players. There are 63 defensive players and 45 offensive players. Following is the complete updated watch list: Click Here
The Rotary Lombardi Award, presented by Wachovia, was founded in the weeks following the death of legendary football coach Vince Lombardi from cancer in 1970. When Marie Lombardi granted the use of her husband’s name to the Rotary Club of Houston, her only stipulation was that all net proceeds from the event be donated to the American Cancer Society. Since that time, millions of dollars have been raised for the American Cancer Society.
The 38th Rotary Lombardi Award dinner will be held on December 5, 2007 at the Hilton Americas Hotel in Houston. Tickets to the event are available for sale through the Rotary Club of Houston office or from members of the Rotary Lombardi Award committee. For more information, call 713-973-9936 or visit the website at rotarylombardiaward.com.
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