Four C-USA Players Named to Lombardi Watch List

Rod Davis

The Executive Committee of the 2003 Rotary Lombardi Award has released its Rotary Lombardi Award Watch List comprised of 49 preliminary candidates for the 34th Rotary Lombardi Award. Conference USA had four players named to the watch list for this year’s award. The 2003 award winner will be announced in December in Houston.

The Rotary Lombardi Award Watch List is comprised of 39 returning Division I college football players who meet the basic position requirements for the Award and who have earned either All American or first-team All Conference recognition in a previous season. All-Conference designations were limited to those voted upon by the coaches of each conference. Eligibility for the Rotary Lombardi Award is limited to down linemen and those defenders who line up within five yards of the football.

Conference USA’s representatives on the list are Southern Miss linebackers Michael Boley and Rod Davis, East Carolina offensive lineman Brian Rimpf and TCU defensive end Bo Schobel.

Davis, who received the 2002 Conerly Trophy signifying the top player in the state of Mississippi, was also a first-team All-Conference USA member for the second year in a row. He led Southern Miss in tackles (168), solo tackles (122), sacks (10.5) and tackles for loss (23.5) and was ranked among the nation’s best in each of the listed categories, No. 3 in solo tackles, tied for No. 6 in total tackles, tied for 13th in tackles for loss and No. 18 in sacks.

One of only two returning AP All-American linebackers, Davis averaged 12.9 tackles a game, 0.81 sacks a game and 1.8 tackles for loss per game. He also registered two interceptions, two pass breakups, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery. He led Conference USA in tackles, solo tackles and sacks and was second in tackles for loss.

Boley played in all 13 games last season and finished the year as the Golden Eagles’ second leading tackler, behind Davis, with 142 total stops. His totals included 16 tackles for loss and eight quarterback sacks, and he recorded two interceptions and three fumble recoveries.

Rimpf, a 6-6, 318-pound tackle, was selected as a preseason second-team All-American by College Football News earlier this month. The senior from Raleigh, N.C., has earned first-team All C-USA honors in each of the past two seasons and was an honorable mention All-America pick by CNN/Sports Illustrated last year. He has been an integral part of ECU's offensive line that has paved the way for two consecutive 1,000-yard rushers and helped the Pirates average over 30 points a game for each of the last three seasons.

Schobel, a 6-5, 268-pounder from Columbus, Texas, was a first team all-Conference USA selection following the 2002 season. He finished third on the squad with 57 tackles, 19 of which came behind the line of scrimmage. He ranked among the league's top 10 in sacks with 7.5. He has been tabbed as the seventh best defensive end in the nation by The Sporting News.

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, which is comprised of nearly 300 members, including all Division I head coaches, former winners, 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 2003.

"The release of our Watch List is just another indication that the activities surrounding our event never cease," said Riley Hetherington, 2003 Rotary Lombardi Committee Chairman. "We are only about 100 days from the start of the college football season, so it is not too soon to begin to identify who we will be bringing to the field at Reliant Stadium in December."

Now in its 34th year of honoring the top lineman in Division I football, the Rotary Lombardi Award Dinner has raised over $2.7 million for The American Cancer Society since it was first held in 1970. Table sales for the 2003 Lombardi Award Dinner are currently underway.