Rising Senior Brooks Named to Initial Lombardi 'Watch List'
3/10/2004 7:00:00 AM | Football
March 10, 2004
COLLEGE PARK, Md. - University of Maryland senior offensive guard C.J. Brooks is among 54 players on the initial "watch list" for the 2004 Rotary Lombardi Award. The award is given to the player chosen as the nation's top lineman, offensive of defensive. Former teammate E.J. Henderson was a finalist for the award in 2002.
Brooks, a first team All-ACC selection as a junior, is one of just seven Atlantic Coast Conference players on the initial list (a pair of whom play for new member schools who were not in the league last year). Along with Florida State's Alex Barron, he is one of just two 2003 all-league offensive linemen who return in 2004. A starter in all 37 games of his career, Brooks led Maryland with 37 "big blocks" last year while committing just one penalty and allowing only one sack in 740 offensive plays.
This year, the Rotary Lombardi Award will celebrate its 35th year. The annual Rotary Lombardi Award Dinner will be held in Houston on December 8, with all net proceeds from the dinner and related activities adding to the total of nearly $3 million that has been raised for the American Cancer Society since the events inception.
The 54 preliminary candidates earned a place on the initial Watch List by earning All-American honors at the end of the 2003 or previous seasons, or by being named to their respective All Conference team as selected by the conference's head coaches. The Watch List will be updated prior to the start of the 2004 season, in order to identify those players who have been selected as pre-season honors candidates.
Eligibility for the Rotary Lombardi Award is limited to down linemen and those defensive players who line up within five yards of the football.
While the Watch Lists 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 over 500 members, including all past 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 2004.
2004 ROTARY LOMBARDI AWARD WATCH LIST
(as of 3/9/04)
NAME, SCHOOL
Anthony Alabi, TCU
Calvin Armstrong, Washington State
Brian Atkinson, Northern Illinois
Andy Avalos, Boise State
Adrian Awasom, North Texas
Alex Barron, Florida State
David Bass, Michigan
Michael Boley, Southern Miss
Andy Brewster, North Texas
Wesley Britt, Alabama
C.J. Brooks, Maryland
Jammal Brown, Oklahoma
Nick Bunting, Tulsa
Vince Carter, Oklahoma
Andrew Clarke, Toledo
Dan Cody, Oklahoma
Shaun Cody, USC
Trent Cole, Cincinnati
Ryan Cook, New Mexico
Harvey Dahl, Nevada
Will Derting, Washington State
Dusty Dvoracek, Oklahoma
Greg Eslinger, Minnesota
Matt Grootegoed, USC
Marquis Harris, Colorado
A.J. Hawk, Ohio State
Eric Henderson, Georgia Tech
Matt Herianv, Nebraska
Leroy Hill, Clemson
Derrick Johnson, Texas
Nick Kaczur, Toledo
Mathias Kiwanuka, Boston College
Jamus Martin, Marshall
Heath Miller, Virginia
Garrett Mills, Tulsa
Kirk Morrison, San Diego State
Scott Mruczkowski, Bowling Green
Michael Munoz, Tennessee
Mike Patterson, USC
Erik Pears, Colorado State
Rob Petitti, Pittsburgh
David Pollack, Georgia
Brady Poppinga, BYU
Julius Roberts, Boise State
Matt Roth, Iowa
Adam Seward, UNLV
Adam Snyder, Oregon
Steve Subia, New Mexico State
Kyle Takavitz, Cincinnati
Claude Terrell, New Mexico
Odell Thurman, Georgia
Jake VerStraete, Northern Illinois
Eric Winston, Miami
Zac Woodfin, UAB
