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NEWPORT BEACH, CA Virginia’s senior defensive end Chris Long has been named one of the eight semifinalists for the fourth annual Lott Trophy, it was announced today by the Board of Directors of The Pacific Club IMPACT Foundation of Newport Beach, Ca.

The other semifinalists are Arizona cornerback Antoine Cason, Colorado linebacker Jordon Dizon, LSU defensive tackle Glenn Dorsey, USC defensive tackle Sedrick Ellis, Ohio State linebacker James Laurinaitis, Illinois linebacker J Leman and Kentucky linebacker Wesley Woodyard.

“This is an outstanding group of candidates and I’m proud of each and every one of them for how they handle themselves on and off the football field,” said Ronnie Lott.

In its fourth 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 only sports award based on personal character and is appropriately named after Lott, the legendary defensive back, who had Hall of Fame careers at both the college (USC) and professional (49ers, Raiders, Jets) levels. Previous winners were David Pollack of Georgia; DeMeco Ryans of Alabama; and Daymeion Hughes of Cal.

In addition to being named a semifinalist for the Lott Trophy, Long has already been named a finalist for the 2007 Rotary Lombardi Award and a semifinalist for the Bednarick Award. Following Saturday’s 48-0 victory at Miami, Long is second on the team with 69 tackles. He has 12 quarterback sacks, 17 tackles for loss and 19 quarterback hurries for the UVa defense that ranks 13th in scoring defense and 20th in total defense and rushing defense.

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 17 members of the Master Coaches. The four finalists will be announced Nov. 26.

The winner will be announced on Dec. 9th at a gala black-tie Awards Banquet at The Pacific Club in Newport Beach, Ca. All four finalists will be flown to Newport Beach for the banquet.

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