March 29, 2005
HOUSTON -- Arizona State University senior offensive lineman Grayling Love is among the 54 players that have been included in the preliminary Watch List for the 36th Rotary Lombardi Award. The 36th Rotary Lombardi Award will be presented on December 7 at the Hilton Americas Hotel in Houston.
Love (Sacramento, Calif.) earned first-team All-Pac-10 honors on the field and in the classroom. He started all 12 games in 2004 and helped lead the Sun Devils to a 9-3 record, including a 27-23 victory over Purdue in the Vitalis Sun Bowl. Love was also named the recipient of a postgraduate scholarship presented annually by the Valley of the Sun Chapter of the National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame.
The 54 preliminary candidates earned a place on the initial Watch List by earning All-American honors at the end of the 2004 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 2005 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 2005.
Former Arizona State defensive end and current Baltimore Ravel All-Pro linebacker Terrell Suggs won the Lombardi Award in 2002.