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Newport Beach, CA — Virginia senior defensive end Chris Long is among 42 of the top defensive players in the nation to be named to the 2007 Lott Trophy Watch List, it was announced today.
Named after Hall of Famer Ronnie Lott, The Lott Trophy is awarded to college football’s Defensive IMPACT Player of the Year. Now in its fourth year, The Lott Trophy is the first college football award to equally recognize athletic performance and the personal character attributes of the player.
Sponsored by The Pacific Club IMPACT Foundation, the award is given to a player who exhibits the same characteristics Lott embodied during his distinguished career: Integrity, Maturity, Performance, Academics, Community and Tenacity.
Last season Long finished fourth among ACC defensive linemen in tackling with an average of 4.8 tackles per game. His 57 tackles are a career high. He led the Cavaliers with 12 tackles for loss and 21 quarterback pressures, while also finishing with five sacks. Virginia improved from 60th in the country in total defense in 2005 to 17th last year. The Cavaliers allowed an average of 289.5 yards per game this season, the fewest yards allowed since 1979.
David Pollack of Georgia won the initial Lott Trophy in 2004. DeMeco Ryans of Alabama won the award in 2005 and Daymeion Hughes of Cal was the recipient in 2006. Georgia, Alabama and Cal each received $25,000 for their general scholarship funds. In three years, the Pacific Club IMPACT Foundation has donated nearly $300,000 to various charities, including the three universities.
Voters for the award include selected members of the national media, previous finalists, the Board of Directors of the Pacific Club IMPACT Foundation, The IMPACT Foundation Board of Advisers comprised of many retired NFL players and Master Coaches, a distinguished group of former head college coaches.
The winner will be announced at a gala black-tie banquet at The Pacific Club in Newport Beach, Ca. on December 9th, 2007.
The 2007 Lott Trophy Watch List (listed alphabetically)Xavier Adibi, LB, Virginia Tech, Sr., 6-2, 226 (Hampton, Va)Jamar Adams, S, Michigan, Sr., 6-2, 212 (Charlotte, NC)Josh Barrett, S, Arizona St., Sr., 6-2, 227 (Reno, Nv)Tommy Blake, DE, TCU, Sr., 6-3, 250 (Aransas Pass, Tx)Caleb Campbell, DB, Army, Sr., 6-2, 224 (Perryton, Tx)Jonathan Casillas, LB, Wisconsin, Sr., 6-2, 214 (New Brunswick, NJ)Antoine Cason, DB, Arizona, Sr., 6-0, 182 (Long Beach, Ca)Simeon Castille, CB, Alabama, Sr., 6-1, 189, (Birmingham, Al)Dan Connor, LB, Penn State, Sr., 6-3, 225 (Wallingford, Pa)Shawn Crable, LB, Michigan, Sr., 6-5, 245 (Massillon, Oh)Maurice Crum, LB, Notre Dame, Sr., 6-0, 225 (Riverview, Fl)Brian Cushing, LB, USC, Jr., 6-4, 245 (Park Ridge, NJ)Bruce Davis, DE, UCLA, Sr., 6-3, 237 (Houston, Tx)Jordan Dizon, LB, Colorado, Sr., 6-0, 225 (Kauai, Hawaii)Glenn Dorsey, DL, LSU, Sr., 6-2, 299 (Gonzales, La)Sedrick Ellis, DT, USC, Sr., 6-1, 295 (Chino, Ca)Zack Follett, LB, Cal, Jr., 6-2, 237 (Clovis, Ca)Eric Foster, DT, Rutgers, Sr., 6-2, 265 (Homestead, Fl)Vince Hall, LB, Virginia Tech, Sr., 6-0, 240 (Chesapeake, Va)Chris Harrington, DL, Texas A&M, Sr., 6-5, 267 (Houston)Nic Harris, DB, Oklahoma, Jr., 6-3, 226 (Alexandria, La)Derrick Harvey, DL, Florida, Jr., 6-4, 245 (Greenbelt, Md)Jonathan Hefney, S, Tennessee, Sr., 5-9, 186 (Rock Hill, SC)Chris Horton, CB, UCLA, Sr., 6-1, 210 (New Orleans)Kelin Johnson, SS, Georgia, Sr., 6-1, 194 (Daytona Beach, Fl)Cody Kase, LB, New Mexico, Sr., 6-2, 212 (Valencia, Ca)Drew Kelson, LB, Texas, Sr., 6-2, 215 (Houston)Mike Klinkenborg, LB, Iowa, Sr., 6-2, 240 (Rock Rapids, Ia)Nick Larkin, DE, Boston College, Sr., 6-4, 250 (Cincinnati)James Laurinaitis, LB, Ohio State, Jr., 6-3, 244 (Hamel, Mn)J Leman, LB, Illinois, Sr., 6-3, 244 (Champaign, Il)Chris Long, DL, Virginia, Sr., 6-4, 284 (Ivy, Va)Derek Lokey, DT, Texas, Sr., 6-2, 280 (Denton, Tx)Dwight Lowery, CB, San Jose State, Sr., 6-1, 185 (Santa Cruz, Ca)Marc Magro, LB, West Virginia, Sr., 6-3, 240 (Morgantown, WVa)Jeff Van Orsow, DL, Oregon State, Sr., 6-4, 262 (Las Vegas)Darryl Richard, DT, Georgia Tech, Sr., 6-4, 285 (Destrehan, La)Keith Rivers, LB, USC, Sr., 6-3, 230 (Lake Mary, Fl)Bo Ruud, LB, Nebraska, Sr., 6-3, 235 (Lincoln, Ne)Eric Wicks, DB, West Virginia, Sr., 6-1, 205 (Pittsburgh)Wesley Woodyard, LB, Kentucky, Sr., 6-1, 212 (La Grange, Ga)Tom Zbikowski, S, Notre Dame, Sr., 6-0, 210 (Arlington Hts, Il)