Greer Named to the 2012 Lott IMPACT Trophy Watch List

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CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Virginia inside linebacker Steve Greer has been named to the 2012 Lott IMPACT Trophy Watch List, honoring the top collegiate defensive player in the country. The announcement came today at a luncheon hosted by Ronnie Lott and the Pacific Club IMPACT Foundation.

Greer (Solon, Ohio) earned his second-career All-ACC honor in 2011 (second team) after being named to the honorable mention team in 2009. Greer led UVa and was seventh in the ACC with 103 tackles. Greer was named ACC Linebacker of the Week following his two-sack performance at then-No. 23 Florida State and led UVa in tackles in 8-of-12 games. Greer started all 12 regular season games before missing the Chick-fil-A Bowl with an injury.

The 2012 list of 42 (Lott’s uniform number) includes 18 linebackers, 13 defensive backs and 11 defensive linemen. There are nine players from the Big Ten, followed by the Pac-12 with eight, the ACC and Big 12 with seven, and the SEC with five. There are two players from the Mountain West and also one player each from Army, BYU, Navy and Notre Dame.

The Lott Trophy has now donated nearly $850,000 to charities since its inception in 2004, including $275,000 to 23 different universities. The winner’s school receives $25,000 annually, each of the three runners-up $5,000 and the Lott IMPACT Player of the Week $1,000.

A national voter panel, made up of more than 200 former collegiate stars, former college coaches, members of the media and both the Lott IMPACT Board of Directors and Board of Advisors, will select the four finalists who will be honored at the annual Lott IMPACT Trophy banquet Dec. 9 at the Pacific Club in Newport Beach, Calif.