April 30, 2010
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IOWA CITY, Iowa Adrian Clayborn and Broderick Binns are among the student-athletes included in the preliminary watch list for the 2010 Rotary Lombardi Award which is presented annually to the college football lineman — offense or defense — who, in addition to outstanding performance and ability, best exemplifies the discipline of Vince Lombardi, the legendary head coach of the Green Bay Packers.
Clayborn, a 6-foot-2, 280-pound senior from St. Louis, was a first team all-Big Ten selection a year ago and the most valuable player of the 2010 FedEx Orange Bowl. Binns, a 6-foot, 260-pound junior from St. Paul, Minn., earned honorable mention all-Big Ten honors a year ago when he was credited with 6.5 sacks and collected 10 tackles for loss. Both are members of s a defensive line that is the foundation of an Iowa defense that is expected to once again be among the nation’s best.
Eligibility for the Rotary Lombardi Award is limited to down linemen, end-to-end, either on offense or defense, who set up no farther than 10 yards to the left or right of the ball, or linebackers who set up no farther than five yards deep from the line of scrimmage. 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 2010 season in order to identify those players who have been selected as pre-season honors candidates.
While the Watch List highlights those players who have already received national recognition, any Division 1 player who meets the 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 1-A 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 2010.
Last year’s Rotary Lombardi Award winner, Ndamukong Suh (Nebraska) was picked up by the Detroit Lions and Finalist Gerald McCoy (OU) by Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the First Round of the NFL Draft. Iowa has had four players become semi-finalists for the Lombardi Award: Robert Gallery (2003), Jared DeVries (1998), Mike Devlin (1992, and Jeff Drost (1986).
The 41st Rotary Lombardi Award will be held on December 7- 8, 2010 at the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston, Texas. For more information about the Lombardi Award including the complete watch list, click HERE or visit rotarylombardiaward.org.