Schobel on Lombardi Semifinal List
10/28/2003 12:00:00 AM | Football
Oct. 28, 2003
TCU defensive end Bo Schobel has been named as one of 12 semifinalists for the 34th Rotary Lombardi Award, which honors the top lineman in Division I College Football. The winner will be announced on December 10 in Houston.
Schobel, a 6-5, 268-pound senior from Columbus, Texas, is the Conference USA leader in sacks with 10.5 and is tied for the top spot in the conference with 16 tackles for loss. He has established a new school record for sacks in a season, breaking the old mark of 10.0, set by his cousin, Aaron Schobel, in 1999. Earlier this season he was named the Conference USA Defensive Player of the Week for his 3.0-sack performance at USF, as the Frogs broke the Bulls' 21-game home winning streak. He was also named to the Mid-Season All-America Team, as selected by Richard Cirminiello of CollegeFootballNews.com.
A total of eight defensive players make up this year's list including four defensive ends, three linebackers and one defensive tackle, while the offensive side of the ball is represented by two tackles and a center in addition to one tight end.
The semifinalists were selected by a panel of over 400 selectors, comprised of all Division I head coaches, all past winners and finalists of the Rotary Lombardi Award, as well as writers and broadcasters who cover college football. Voting to determine the four finalists for the award will begin immediately and conclude on Monday, November 11.
Others on the semifinal list include defensive tackle Tommie Harris and linebacker Teddy Lehman of top-ranked Oklahoma, linebacker Jonathan Vilma and tighte end Kellen Winslow of the second-ranked Miami Hurricanes, offensive tackle Shawn Andrews of Arkansas, defensive end David Ball of UCLA, offensive tackle Robert Gallery of Iowa, linebacker Matt Grooteegoed of USC, center Jake Grove of Virginia Tech and defensive ends David Pollack of Georgia and Will Smith of Ohio State.
Schobel will have an opportunity to make a case for himself when he and the Horned Frogs appear in front of a national television audience on Wednesday, November 5, as TCU hosts Louisville in a Conference USA showdown. Game time is set for 6:30 p.m. and the contest will be televised on ESPN2. The Frogs are ranked 13th in the nation in this week's USA Today/ESPN Coaches poll, 15th in the Associated Press poll and 12th in the latest BCS Standings. At 8-0, the Frogs are just one of three undefeated teams in the country and are tied with Oklahoma for the nation's longest winning streak.
