Ohio State linebacker A.J. Hawk has recently been nominated as a semifinalist for two prestigious college football honors: the Butkus Award and the Rotary Lombardi Award.
The most recent of the nominations, for the annual Lombardi Award, is traditionally given to the college football lineman - offensive or defensive - who, in addition to outstanding performance and ability, best exemplifies the discipline of Vince Lombardi. Lombardi was coach of the Green Bay Packers and first made a name for himself as a lineman for Fordham University from 1934-1937.
The 12 semifinalists for the 35th Rotary Lombardi Award are chosen by nearly 500 members of the nation's most prominent college football coaches, football writers, sports broadcasters and previous Lombardi Award winners.
Though Hawk is not a lineman, he would not be the first linebacker to win the award. Five linebackers have won the award in the past 34 years, including former Buckeye linebacker Chris Spielman in 1987. Other Buckeye greats who have received the award include middle guard Jim Stillwagon (1970), offensive tackle John Hicks (1973) and offensive tackle Orlando Pace, who won the award in 1995 and 1996.
"A.J. is as good as I've ever seen," said OSU linebacker coach Luke Fickell. "It's a joy watching him because he practices as hard as he plays."
Other semifinalists for this year's Lombardi Award are Elton Brown (Virginia), Jamal Brown and Dan Cody (Oklahoma), Shaun Cody (USC), Greg Eslinger (Minnesota), Jonathan Goddard (Marshall), Spencer Havner (UCLA), Erasmus James (Wisconsin), Derrick Johnson (Texas), Marcus Spears (LSU) and last year's winner David Pollack (Georgia).
The list of 12 semifinalists will be narrowed down to four finalists to be announced Nov. 9.
Hawk is also a semifinalist for the Butkus Award, which has been awarded annually to the best linebacker in college football since 1985. The award's namesake comes from its former Chicago Bear and NFL Hall of Famer Dick Butkus.
Hawk, a junior in criminology, was selected from the initial Butkus Award Watch List of 68 college linebackers. The list was determined by a 30-member selection committee comprised of the nation's foremost media members.
The remaining semifinalists for the 2004 Butkus Award are Michael Boley (Southern Miss.), Ahmad Brooks (Virginia), Kevin Burnett (Tennessee), Channing Crowder (Florida), Matt Grootegoed (USC), Spencer Havner (UCLA), Derrick Johnson (Texas), Lance Mitchell (Oklahoma), Kirk Morrison (San Diego St.), Odell Thurman (Georgia) and Leon Williams (Miami, Fla.).
The Downtown Athletic Club of Orlando will announce the three finalists for this year's Butkus Award Nov. 11. The winner will be announced Dec. 10 at the Butkus Award Gala.
Hawk, who was named the defensive MVP of the 2003 Tostitos Fiesta Bowl, leads the Buckeyes and the Big Ten in total tackles with 79. After six games this season, he has accumulated 39 solo and 40 assisted tackles and is tied for first in the nation with Army's Greg Washington at 13.17 tackles per game. Last year, in his second season as a starter, Hawk led the Buckeyes in tackles with 106 and won first-team All-Big Ten honors.
"He's played solid for us and (the award) would be greatly deserved," Fickell said of Hawk.
Only one former Buckeye has won the Butkus Award, and that was Andy Katzenmoyer in 1997.
Be the first to comment on this article!