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Schmidt Named Semifinalist for the Lott Trophy
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Nov. 11, 2005
NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. – Virginia defensive end Brennan Schmidt (McLean, Va.) has been named one of seven semifinalists for the second annual Lott Trophy, presented by The IMPACT Foundation of The Pacific Club in Newport Beach, Ca.
A team captain for the past two years, Schmidt is an honor student with a 3.49 GPA and has started 47 consecutive games since his freshman season. He leads Virginia’s defensive line in tackles with 40, including four sacks, this season.
“His strength of character and his warm way of treating all people with honesty and compassion have earned the respect of his coaches, teammates, professors and all of the people of the Charlottesville community,” NFL great Howie Long said of Schmidt.
The other semifinalists are LB A.J. Hawk (Ohio State), CB Antoine Huffman (Kentucky), LB Brandon Hoyte (Notre Dame), LB D’Qwell Jackson (Maryland), DE Darryl Tapp (Virginia Tech), and LB DeMeco Ryans (Alabama).
In its second year, The Lott Trophy honors the college football Defensive IMPACT Player of the Year. The student-athlete is judged on both his on-field performance and his off-field performance. The Lott Trophy is the first sports award based on personal character and is appropriately named after the legendary defensive back, Ronnie Lott. Last year’s winner was David Pollack, the All-American defensive end from Georgia.
Finalists will be announced Nov. 28. Voting for the winner will be conducted by Ernst & Young with ballots being sent to college offensive and defensive coordinators, national media, The Pacific Club IMPACT Foundation Board of Directors, a Board of Advisors made up of former NFL players and coaches along with the three finalists from last year – Pollack, Derrick Johnson of Texas and Jim Leonhard of Wisconsin.
The winner will be announced on Dec. 11th at a gala black-tie Awards Banquet at The Pacific Club in Newport Beach, Calif. The winning student-athlete’s university will receive $25,000 for the general scholarship fund from The IMPACT Foundation.
The Virginia Cavaliers (5-3, 2-3 ACC) host No. 24 Georgia Tech (6-2, 4-2 ACC) on Nov. 12 at 3:30 p.m. at the Carl Smith Center, home of David A. Harrison III Field at Scott Stadium. The game will be televised regionally by ABC.