Five Longhorns named to the Lombardi Award's midseason watch list
Jaylan Ford, Christian Jones, T’Vondre Sweat, Ja’Tavion Sanders, and Kelvin Banks were named to the Lombardi Award watch list by the Rotary Club of Houston on Tuesday, the second most selections from in the nation.
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The Lombardi Award is presented annually to the college football offensive or defensive lineman, who in addition to outstanding performance and ability, best exemplifies the character and discipline of NFL Hall of Fame head voach Vince Lombardi.
Texas has had three players win the Lombardi Award. Brian Orakpo was the most recent in 2008. Prior to Orakpo, Tony Degrate was the recipient in 1984 while Kenneth Sims won the award in 1981. Nine Longhorns have been finalists for the honor.
To be considered for the Lombardi, players must meet the Rotary Club of Houston’s following criteria:
- Be a down Lineman, end to end, either on offense or defense, setting up no further than ten (10) yards to the left or right of the ball at the time of the snap.
- Be a Linebacker on defense, setting up no further than five (5) yards deep from the line of scrimmage.
- Must not come out of the offensive backfield and set up on the line of scrimmage as a Blocker or a Receiver or listed in the program as an Offensive Back or Receiver.
- Be eligible to participate in the current season.
Ford currently leads the Longhorns in tackles with 40 and has recorded 5.0 TFL and two interceptions. Jones has started every game this season at right tackle, a role he had in all 13 game last season. Sweat has played in six games with two starts. He has 18 tackles with 4.0 TFL, 1.0 sacks, a pass breakup, and four quarterback hurries.
Sanders has caught 14 passes for 291 yards and a touchdown this season. Banks has started every game in his 19 game career at left tackle.
Semifinalists for the Lombardi will be announced November 1, and finalists on November 15. The award winner will be announced December 6.
