Schobel Named to Lombardi Watch List
5/24/2003 12:00:00 AM | Football
May 24, 2003
TCU defensive end Bo Schobel is one of 39 Division I football players identified by the Executive Committee of the Rotary Lombardi Committee as players who have met the established criteria and have been named to the preliminary Watch List of candidates for the 34th annual award.
For the second consecutive year, the Rotary Lombardi Award Dinner will be held on the field of Reliant Stadium in Houston. This year's gala event will be held on Wednesday, December 10.
The 39 preliminary candidates earned a place on the initial Watch List by earning all-America honors at the end of the 2002 season, 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 2003 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.
Schobel, a 6-5, 268-pounder from Columbus, Texas, was a first team all-Conference USA selection following the 2002 season. He finished third on the squad with 57 tackles, 19 of which came behind the line of scrimmage. He ranked among the league's top 10 in sacks with 7.5. He has been tabbed as the seventh best defensive end in the nation by The Sporting News.
While the Watch List 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 nearly 300 members, including all Division I head coaches, former winners, 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 2003.
"The release of our Watch List is just another indication that the activities surrounding our event never cease," said Riley Hetherington, 2003 Rotary Lombardi Committee Chairman. "We are only about 100 days from the start of the college football season, so it is not too soon to begin to identify who we will be bringing to the field at Reliant Stadium in December."
Now in its 34th year of honoring the top lineman in Division I football, the Rotary Lombardi Award Dinner has raised over $2.7 million for The American Cancer Society since it was first held in 1970. Table sales for the 2003 Lombardi Award Dinner are currently underway.
