Blake and Ortiz tabbed as candidates for Hendricks Award
6/19/2006 12:00:00 AM | Football
June 19, 2006
CHICAGO -- TCU's Tommy Blake and Chase Ortiz have been named to the watch list for the 2006 Ted Hendricks Defensive End of the Year Award.TCU is one of just nine schools with more than one player on the watch list.
The Ted Hendricks Award is named in honor of college football's first three-time first-team All-American. Hendricks' professional career spanned 15 years and included four Super Bowl winning teams and eight Pro Bowl selections. He was inducted into the College and Pro Football Halls of Fame.
It's the fifth 2006 watch list selection for Blake, a preseason All-American by Athlon and a member of The Sporting News' All-American checklist. Blake has been identified as a candidate for the Chuck Bednarik Award and Bronko Nagurski Trophy which both recognize the top defensive player in the country. The junior from Aransas Pass, Texas, is also on the Lombardi Trophy and Lott Trophy watch lists.
Blake was named the 2005 Mountain West Conference Defensive Player of the Year by CollegeFootballNews.com in addition to being a Sophomore All-American. He was also a first-team All-Mountain West Conference selection. His seven sacks were second in the league, behind only Ortiz, while placing third in the MWC with 13 1/2 tackles for a loss.
Blake led all TCU defensive linemen with 57 stops, including 40 solo.
Ortiz, also on the Lombardi Trophy watch list, was a first-team All-MWC selection after topping the league in both sacks (nine) and tackles for a loss (14). The junior from League City, Texas, began preseason drills last year in a third-team position on the Frogs' depth chart.
Ortiz closed the 2005 campaign with 2 1/2 sacks in the 27-24 EV1.net Houston Bowl win over Iowa State. All nine of his season sacks came in the final nine contests.
