Gainesville, FL
University of Florida linebacker Brandon Spikes is on the watch list for the 2008 Rotary Lombardi Award. He is among 54 players named to the preliminary list.
Spikes has appeared in 22 games with nine starts at linebacker. He has collected 146 tackles (90 solo) in his first two seasons. In 2007, he started all 13 games for the Gators at middle linebacker and was a First-Team All-SEC selection by the league's coaches and the AP. He led the team in 2007 with 131 total tackles, which ranked second in the SEC.
Eligibility for the Rotary Lombardi Award is limited to down linemen and those defensive players who line up within five yards of the football. The candidates earned a place on the preliminary watch list by earning All-American honors or by being named to their respective all-conference first team as selected by the conference's head coaches. The Rotary Lombardi Award Watch List will be updated prior to the start of the 2008 season in order to identify those players who have been selected as pre-season honors candidates.
While the Watch List highlights players who have already received national recognition, any Division I player who meets the position requirements is eligible for consideration from the Rotary Lombardi Selection Committee. This committee is comprised of more than 500 members, including all past winners and finalists, all Division I head coaches and a panel of sportswriters and broadcasters. The Rotary Lombardi Watch List, intended as a reference tool for the Selection Committee, will be periodically updated and revised through the conclusion of the voting to determine the 12 Semifinalists for 2008.
The 39th Rotary Lombardi Award dinner will be held on December 10, 2008 in Houston.
The complete Rotary Lombardi Award Preliminary Watch List for 2008 follows:
Travis Beckum, TE, Wisconsin
Robert Brewster, OT, Ball State
Diyral Briggs, DE, Bowling Green
Terrill Byrd, DT, Cincinnati
Ian Campbell, DE, Kansas State
Solomon Elimimian, LB, Hawaii
Auston English, DE, Oklahoma
Larry English, DE, Northern Illinois
John Estes, OL, Hawaii
Maurice Evans, DE, Penn State
Ray Feinga, OL, BYU
Andrew Gardner, OT, Georgia Tech
Dominic Green, OL, Nevada
Greg Hardy, DL, Ole Miss
Jason Harmon, TE, Florida Atlantic
Darius Hill, TE, Ball State
Daniel Holtzclaw, LB, Eastern Michigan
Phillip Hunt, DE, Houston
George Hypolite, DT, Colorado
Greg Isdaner, OL, West Virginia
Herman Johnson, OL, LSU
Jan Jorgensen, DL, BYU
Frantz Joseph, LB, Florida Atlantic
Mitch King, DL, Iowa
James Laurinaitis, LB, Ohio State
Boris Lee, LB, Troy
Adam Leonard, LB, Hawaii
Jonathan Luigs, C, Arkansas
Alex Mack, OL, California
Scott McKillop, LB, Pittsburgh
Gerald McRath, LB, Southern Miss
Matt Mandich, OL, Arkansas State
Rey Maualuga, LB, USC
Greg Middleton, DE, Indiana
Joe Mortensen, LB, Kansas
Clayton Mullins, OB, Miami (OH)
Eric Norwood, DE, South Carolina
Michael Oher, OT, Ole Miss
Anthony Parker, OL, Tennessee
Brandon Pettigrew, TE, Oklahoma State
Dennis Pitta, TE, BYU
Ryan Purvis, TE, Boston College
Nick Reed, DE, Oregon
Dallas Reynolds, OL, BYU
Duke Robinson, OL, Oklahoma
George Selvie, DL, S. Florida
A.Q. Shipley, C, Penn State
Dion Small, OL, Troy
Andre Smith, OL, Alabama
Brandon Spikes, LB, Florida
Max Unger, OT, Oregon
David Veikune, DL, Hawaii
Vance Walker, DT, Georgia Tech
Eric Wood, C, Louisville
Spikes on Lombardi Watch List
Spikes on Lombardi Watch List
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