Hughes Wins Lott Trophy
12/14/2009 12:00:00 AM | Football
Dec. 14, 2009
NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. -- TCU All-America defensive end Jerry Hughes was named the recipient of the 2009 Lott Trophy in a black-tie affair Sunday night at the Pacific Club in Newport Beach, Calif.
It's the second national award for Hughes this week. He won the Ted Hendricks Award, honoring the nation's top defensive end, on Tuesday.
Sponsored by The Pacific Club IMPACT Foundation and named after Hall of Famer Ronnie Lott, the Lott Trophy is awarded to college football's Defensive IMPACT Player of the Year. Now in its sixth year, the Lott Trophy is the first college football award to equally recognize athletic performance and the personal character attributes of the player.
TCU will receive $25,000 for its general scholarship fund for Hughes' accomplishment.
The other three finalists were Eric Berry of Tennessee, Rolando McClain of Alabama and Ndamukong Suh of Nebraska.
Hughes has been named to all four All-America teams announced thus far. He was also a finalist for the Bronko Nagurski Trophy and Rotary Lombardi Award. He remains in contention for the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award.
A senior from Sugar Land, Texas, Hughes anchors the nation's top-ranked defense. He has 15 tackles for loss, including 11 1/2 sacks, among a career-high 54 stops. The Horned Frogs are 12-0 and headed to the Fiesta Bowl for their first BCS appearance.
Hughes is on pace to graduate this spring, in four years, with a degree in communications. He is taking 18 hours this semester. In October, he received a Local Hero Award from Bank of America for his work in the community.
Hughes was a consensus All-American last season when he led the nation with 15 sacks and six forced fumbles.
In six years, the Pacific Club IMPACT Foundation has donated more than $750,000 to various charities, including $25,000 to each of the winners' universities.
Voters for the award include selected members of the national media, previous finalists, the Board of Directors of the IMPACT Foundation, the IMPACT Foundation Board of Advisors comprised of retired NFL players and the Legends Coaches, a distinguished group of former college head coaches.
Previous winners of the Lott Trophy:
2004 - David Pollack, Georgia
2005 - DeMeco Ryans, Alabama
2006 - Dante Hughes, California
2007 - Glenn Dorsey, LSU
2008 - James Laurinaitis, Ohio State
2009 - Jerry Hughes, TCU
