TCU’s Jerry Hughes named winner of Lott Trophy

Newport Beach, Ca. – Jerry Hughes of TCU has been named the winner of the sixth annual Lott Trophy at a gala banquet Sunday night at The Pacific Club in Newport Beach, California.

Hughes is a senior Defensive End from Sugar Land, Texas and has been the Mountain West Defensive Player of the Year each of the past two seasons. He led the undefeated Horned Frogs in sacks (11.5) and tackles for losses (15) this season.

Hughes was named the winner of the Hendricks Award earlier this week as the top defensive end in college football.

TCU will receive $25,000 for its general scholarship fund for Hughes’ accomplishment.

The other three finalists were Eric Berry of Tennessee, Rolando McClain of Alabama and Ndamukong Suh of Nebraska.

The award is sponsored by The Pacific Club IMPACT Foundation.

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 sixth 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 in Newport Beach, the award is given to the player who exhibits the same characteristics Lott embodied during his distinguished career: Integrity, Maturity, Performance, Academics, Community and Tenacity.

Hughes has been very involved in charity outreach programs in the Dallas-Fort Worth area and was honored with a Local Hero award earlier this season. He will graduate on time from TCU in the spring after carrying 18 units this past semester.

TCU will play Boise State in the Fiesta Bowl Jan. 5 in Phoenix.

Past winners of The Lott Trophy:
2004 – David Pollack, Georgia
2005 – DeMeco Ryans, Alabama
2006 – Dante Hughes, California
2007 – Glenn Dorsey, LSU
2008 – James Laurinaitis, Ohio State

In six years, the Pacific Club IMPACT Foundation has donated more than $750,000 to various charities, including $25,000 to each of the winners’ universities.

Voters for the award include selected members of the national media, previous finalists, the Board of Directors of the IMPACT Foundation, the IMPACT Foundation Board of Advisors comprised of retired NFL players and the Legends Coaches, a distinguished group of former college head coaches.

Named after Pro Football Hall of Fame member, Ronnie Lott, The Lott Trophy is awarded to college football’s Defensive IMPACT Player of the Year. Founded in 2004 by The Pacific Club IMPACT Foundation, The Lott Trophy is the first and only college football award to equally recognize athletic performance and the personal character attributes of the player. The Lott Trophy is given to the player who exhibits the same characteristics Lott embodied during his distinguished career: Integrity, Maturity, Performance, Academics, Community and Tenacity. Voters for the award include selected members of the national media, previous finalists, the Board of Directors of the Pacific Club IMPACT Foundation and the Legends Coaches which is a distinguished group of former college football head coaches. The sixth annual Lott Trophy dinner will be held December 13th at The Pacific Club in Newport Beach, California. For more information on The Lott Trophy visit at www.LottTrophy.com or become a Lott Trophy fan on Facebook.

Legends Poll Dec. 6, 2009

WEEK: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 |

December 6, 2009 How the Legends voted

Rank Team Record Points Last Week 1 Alabama (16) 13-0 400 2 2 TCU 12-0 376 4 3 Texas 13-0 367 3 4 Florida 12-1 348 1 5 Cincinnati 12-0 341 5 6 Boise State 13-0 323 6 7 Ohio State 10-2 301 7 8 Oregon 10-2 293 8 9 Iowa 10-2 259 9 10 Georgia Tech 11-2 254 11 11 Penn State 10-2 245 10 12 Virginia Tech 9-3 210 12 13 LSU 9-3 207 13 14 BYU 10-2 182 16 15 Miami 9-3 159 19 16 Pittsburgh 9-3 146 14 17 Oregon State 8-4 142 15 18 Stanford 8-4 139 20 19 Arizona 8-4 128 24 20 Oklahoma State 9-3 64 23 21 Utah 9-3 58 25 22 Nebraska 9-4 50 – 23 West Virginia 9-3 41 – 24 East Carolina 9-4 37 – 25 Clemson 8-5 35 22 Others Receiving Votes USC 22, Houston 16, Wisconsin 11, Arkansas 9, Mississippi 6, Northwestern 6, Tennessee 6, Oklahoma 5, Auburn 4, Georgia 4, South Carolina 4, Fresno State 2 Teams Dropped Out from Last Week’s Poll California, Houston, USC

Ballot: Broyles, Cooper, DeBerry, Donahue

Go to: Page 2 Vince Dooley Pat Dye LaVell Edwards Don James Go to: Page 3 Frank Kush Dick MacPherson Bill Mallory Don Nehlen Go to: Page 4 John Ralston John Robinson RC Slocum Gene Stallings
Frank Broyles		John Cooper		Fisher Deberry		Terry Donahue
1. Alabama 2. TCU 3. Texas 4. Cincinnati 5. Florida 6. Ohio State 7. Georgia Tech 8. Boise State 9. Oregon 10. Iowa 11. LSU 12. Penn State 13. Oregon State 14. Pitt 15. Miami 16. Arizona 17. Stanford 18. Virginia Tech 19. BYU 20. Mississippi 21. Tennessee 22. Georgia 23. South Carolina 24. Arkansas 25. East Carolina		1. Alabama 2. TCU 3. Florida 4. Texas 5. Cincinnati 6. Boise State 7. Oregon 8. Ohio State 9. Iowa 10. Penn State 11. Georgia Tech 12. Virginia Tech 13. LSU 14. BYU 15. Oregon State 16. Pitt 17. Miami 18. Stanford 19. Arizona 20. Utah 21. Clemson 22. East Carolina 23. Houston 24. Wisconsin 25. West Virginia		1. Alabama 2. Texas 3. TCU 4. Florida 5. Cincinnati 6. Boise State 7. Ohio State 8. Oregon 9. Georgia Tech 10. Iowa 11. Penn State 12. Virginia Tech 13. LSU 14. BYU 15. Miami 16. Pitt 17. Stanford 18. Oregon State 19. Oklahoma State 20. Nebraska 21. Clemson 22. Oklahoma 23. Arizona 24. West Virginia 25. South Carolina		1. Alabama 2. TCU 3. Florida 4. Cincinnati 5. Texas 6. Boise State 7. Oregon 8. Ohio State 9. Iowa 10. Georgia Tech 11. Penn State 12. BYU 13. Virginia Tech 14. Oregon State 15. LSU 16. Pitt 17. Stanford 18. Arizona 19. Miami 20. Nebraska 21. Utah 22. Clemson 23. West Virginia 24. East Carolina 25. Houston
Click to see the other Legends’ Transparent Ballots 2 | 3 | 4 | »

Ballot: Dooley, Dye, Edwards, James

Go to: Page 1 Frank Broyles John Cooper Fisher DeBerry Terry Donahue Go to: Page 3 Frank Kush Dick MacPherson Bill Mallory Don Nehlen Go to: Page 4 John Ralston John Robinson RC Slocum Gene Stallings
Vince Dooley		Pat Dye		LaVell Edwards		Don James
1. Alabama 2. Texas 3. TCU 4. Florida 5. Boise State 6. Cincinnati 7. Ohio State 8. Oregon 9. Iowa 10. Penn State 11. Georgia Tech 12. Virginia Tech 13. LSU 14. Pitt 15. Oregon State 16. BYU 17. Miami 18. Stanford 19. East Carolina 20. Houston 21. Arizona 22. Oklahoma State 23. USC 24. Clemson 25. Utah		1. Alabama 2. TCU 3. Texas 4. Florida 5. Cincinnati 6. Ohio State 7. Boise State 8. Oregon 9. Georgia Tech 10. Virginia Tech 11. Penn State 12. Arizona 13. Miami 14. Iowa 15. LSU 16. Oregon State 17. Stanford 18. West Virginia 19. BYU 20. Nebraska 21. Pitt 22. Northwestern 23. USC 24. Arkansas 25. Tennessee		1. Alabama 2. TCU 3. Texas 4. Cincinnati 5. Boise State 6. Ohio State 7. Florida 8. Oregon 9. Iowa 10. Penn State 11. Georgia Tech 12. Virginia Tech 13. BYU 14. LSU 15. Oregon State 16. Stanford 17. Arizona 18. Pitt 19. East Carolina 20. Utah 21. Miami 22. Oklahoma State 23. West Virginia 24. Houston 25. USC		1. Alabama 2. TCU 3. Texas 4. Florida 5. Cincinnati 6. Boise State 7. Ohio State 8. Oregon 9. Iowa 10. Penn State 11. Georgia Tech 12. Virginia Tech 13. LSU 14. BYU 15. Arizona 16. Miami 17. Stanford 18. Nebraska 19. Utah 20. Oklahoma State 21. Oregon State 22. Pitt 23. Wisconsin 24. Clemson 25. East Carolina
« | 1 Click to see the other Legends’ Transparent Ballots 3 | 4 | »

Ballot: Kush, Mac, Mallory, Nehlen

Go to: Page 1 Frank Broyles John Cooper Fisher DeBerry Terry Donahue Go to: Page 2 Vince Dooley Pat Dye LaVell Edwards Don James Go to: Page 4 John Ralston John Robinson RC Slocum Gene Stallings
Frank Kush		Dick MacPherson		Bill Mallory		Don Nehlen
1. Alabama 2. TCU 3. Florida 4. Texas 5. Cincinnati 6. Boise State 7. Oregon 8. Georgia Tech 9. Ohio State 10. Iowa 11. LSU 12. Penn State 13. BYU 14. Virginia Tech 15. Miami 16. Arizona 17. Pitt 18. Stanford 19. Oregon State 20. Utah 21. Nebraska 22. Oklahoma State 23. Clemson 24. USC 25. East Carolina		1. Alabama 2. Texas 3. TCU 4. Cincinnati 5. Boise State 6. Ohio State 7. Florida 8. Oregon 9. Georgia Tech 10. Iowa 11. Penn State 12. Virginia Tech 13. LSU 14. BYU 15. Miami 16. Arizona 17. Stanford 18. Pitt 19. Clemson 20. Oregon State 21. Utah 22. USC 23. Nebraska 24. Oklahoma State 25. East Carolina		1. Alabama 2. Texas 3. TCU 4. Florida 5. Cincinnati 6. Boise State 7. Ohio State 8. Oregon 9. Iowa 10. Penn State 11. Georgia Tech 12. Virginia Tech 13. LSU 14. BYU 15. Miami 16. Stanford 17. Pitt 18. Oregon State 19. Oklahoma State 20. Arizona 21. Utah 22. USC 23. West Virginia 24. Northwestern 25. East Carolina		1. Alabama 2. TCU 3. Cincinnati 4. Texas 5. Boise State 6. Florida 7. Ohio State 8. Oregon 9. Iowa 10. Penn State 11. Georgia Tech 12. Virginia Tech 13. LSU 14. BYU 15. Arizona 16. Miami 17. Stanford 18. Utah 19. Oklahoma State 20. Wisconsin 21. Arkansas 22. Auburn 23. West Virginia 24. Oregon State 25. Pitt
« | 1 | 2 Click to see the other Legends’ Transparent Ballots 4 | »

Ballot: Ralston, Robinson, Slocum, Stallings

Go to: Page 1 Frank Broyles John Cooper Fisher DeBerry Terry Donahue Go to: Page 2 Vince Dooley Pat Dye LaVell Edwards Don James Go to: Page 3 Frank Kush Dick MacPherson Bill Mallory Don Nehlen
John Ralston		John Robinson		RC Slocum		Gene Stallings
1. Alabama 2. Florida 3. Texas 4. TCU 5. Boise State 6. Cincinnati 7. Oregon 8. Ohio State 9. Penn State 10. LSU 11. Iowa 12. Miami 13. BYU 14. Georgia Tech 15. Pitt 16. Oregon State 17. Virginia Tech 18. Oklahoma State 19. Arizona 20. Stanford 21. Nebraska 22. East Carolina 23. West Virginia 24. Fresno State 25. Clemson		1. Alabama 2. TCU 3. Texas 4. Cincinnati 5. Boise State 6. Florida 7. Oregon 8. Ohio State 9. Georgia Tech 10. Pitt 11. Iowa 12. Stanford 13. Penn State 14. Virginia Tech 15. LSU 16. BYU 17. Oregon State 18. Arizona 19. Miami 20. Nebraska 21. Utah 22. Oklahoma State 23. Clemson 24. USC 25. East Carolina		1. Alabama 2. Texas 3. TCU 4. Florida 5. Cincinnati 6. Boise State 7. Oregon 8. Ohio State 9. Iowa 10. Penn State 11. Georgia Tech 12. Virginia Tech 13. LSU 14. Pitt 15. Oregon State 16. BYU 17. Miami 18. West Virginia 19. East Carolina 20. Stanford 21. Arizona 22. Houston 23. Clemson 24. Utah 25. Oklahoma State		1. Alabama 2. Florida 3. TCU 4. Texas 5. Cincinnati 6. Boise State 7. Ohio State 8. Oregon 9. Iowa 10. Georgia Tech 11. Penn State 12. Virginia Tech 13. BYU 14. LSU 15. Miami 16. Oklahoma State 17. Pitt 18. Oregon State 19. West Virginia 20. Stanford 21. Nebraska 22. Arizona 23. USC 24. Utah 25. Oklahoma
« | 1 | 2 | 3 Click to see the other Legends’ Transparent Ballots

Meyer says Florida will ‘load up’ on Bama running game

Florida head coach Urban Meyer and former West Virginia head coach Don Nehlen join Tim Brando on the SN Radio Network to discuss the SEC championship game.

• Meyer said one of the first calls he made when he was hired at Bowling Green was Don Nehlen.
• Nehlen said the Legends Poll voters believe the SEC Championship may decide the national championship.
• Meyer said the SEC is as tough as ever. He said the teams are knocking each other off.
• Nehlen asked Meyer if Florida can stop the running game of Alabama. Meyer said that McElroy has improved at quarterback and agreed the key is to stop Ingram and the running game.

Saban says the SEC title is a one-game season

• James said it means a lot to him that Saban is succeeding in his career.
• Saban said his team has struggled in rivalry games, but showed resiliency.
• Saban said the SEC Championship game is a one-game season.
• James said Florida’s defense is tough and Saban agreed.

Mailbag: ACC Title Game – Clemson vs Georgia Tech

SN Today question: Who will win the rematch between Clemson – Georgia Tech in the ACC Championship game in Tampa?

Virginia coach George Welsh: “I think the ACC championship game will go down to the wire. Georgia Tech has been rolling over opponents lately, but they had a close call with Clemson early in the season. Here are some things to consider about Clemson now.  Their offense is better now; the quarterback has gotten a whole lot better.  They are utilizing their great speed with Spiller and Ford. And any time you have to play a team a second time in the same season, you can have a chance to correct your mistakes from the first game. Georgia Tech doesn’t have the greatest defense and they just squeaked out that earlier win. I could see Clemson winning this one if they stay away from mistakes.”

Championship weekend preview

The 2009 regular season is culminating with several intriguing match-ups on championship weekend, and all of the questions will be answered. Which team will prevail in the SEC championship game? Which Oregon school will win the Pac-10 and go to the Rose Bowl? Can Nebraska pull of the upset over Texas? The Legends weighed in on a roundtable discussion.

Who goes to the Rose Bowl?

John Robinson: I think Oregon has played just a bit better all year. And with Masoli, the quarterback for Oregon, you can’t find the ball. It is incredible the coaching job done at Oregon State. They don’t bring in highly wanted guys, but they certainly bring guys who can play.

Mike Riley is an excellent QB coach and his players have flourished under him. I was up there with those Civil War battles. And Oregon is a finesse teams and if Oregon State can force fumbles and create their opportunity, they could win.

Don James: I was really impressed with the Pac-10 with 5 teams in most top 25 polls who have to play everybody. On another note, I wanted to compliment Boise State playing through that weather vs. Nevada. I have been very impressed with that team and how well they are coached.

What does Nebraska do well that could help win the Big 12?

Fisher DeBerry: Defensively they are pretty good, but offensively they are just solid. I think they will be ready and we will just have to wait and see. I think all and all I have to say their defense is pretty good. I was impressed with Texas and offensively they are a darn good football team. I was also impressed with A&M’s growth this season.

Who will win the ACC Championship game?

Vince Dooley: I don’t know how good Clemson is on offense. I said early in the year Georgia Tech was only average on defense. They had no answer for Georgia, and I think they caught Georgia on and all time emotional high and Georgia Tech couldn’t keep up with them. Who knows what Paul Johnson will do versus Clemson.

I think both teams will be ready to play. And Georgia’s offensive line finally played like they were capable of doing and shut down Tech on the inside. I think the line of scrimmage is the key to the game.

I think Clemson can get the penetration on Tech.

Next Page »