Oct. 22, 2007
NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. – Notre Dame senior strong safety Tom Zbikowski (Arlington Heights, Ill.) has been named a quarterfinalist for The 2007 Lott Trophy, presented by The Pacific Club IMPACT Foundation of Newport Beach, Ca.
Zbikowski, a two-time All-American, is tied for fourth on the Irish with 51 tackles, including 30 solo stops. He has one sack, one interception, one pass break-up and three forced fumbles. Zbikowski has also averaged 10.2 yards per punt return (12 for 123 yards). With 260 career tackles, he already owns the school record for career stops by a defensive back and ranks 12th all-time in tackles among any position.
Zbikowski earned second-team All-America accolades from the Walter Camp Football Foundation last year and was named a third-team All-American by the Associated Press for the second straight season. He recorded 79 tackles with one forced fumble and one fumble recovery on defense and averaged 9.0 yards on 16 punt returns with one touchdown return in 2006.
Sporting News and Phil Steele consider Zbikowski the top strong safety in the nation, while ESPN NFL Draft Analyst Mel Kiper tabbed him the top senior safety in 2007. He was also named to the preseason watch lists for the Bednarik and Nagurski Trophy as well as the Lott Award.
In its fourth year, The Lott Trophy honors the college football Defensive IMPACT Player of the Year. The student-athlete is judged on both his on-field performance and his off-field performance. The Lott Trophy is the only sports award based on personal character and is appropriately named after the legendary defensive back, Ronnie Lott. Previous winners were David Pollack of Georgia, DeMeco Ryans of Alabama and Daymeion Hughes of Cal.
Semifinalists will be announced Nov. 12. Voting for the winner will be conducted by Ernst & Young with ballots being sent to college offensive and defensive coordinators, national media, The Pacific Club IMPACT Foundation Board of Directors, a Board of Advisors made up of former NFL players and coaches along with the 17 members of the Master Coaches. The four finalists will be announced Nov. 26.
The winner will be announced on Dec. 9th at a gala black-tie Awards Banquet at The Pacific Club in Newport Beach, Ca. All four finalists will be flown to Newport Beach for the banquet.
2007 Lott Trophy Quarterfinalists
Antoine Cason, DB (Arizona)
Jordon Dizon, LB (Colorado)
Glenn Dorsey, DT (LSU)
Sedrick Ellis, DT (USC)
Nic Harris, DB (Oklahoma)
Derrick Harvey, DE (Florida)
Jonathan Hefney, DB (Tennessee)
Will Cody Kase, LB (New Mexico)
Nick Larkin, DL (Boston College)
James Laurinaitis, LB (Ohio State)
J Leman, LB (Illinois)
Chris Long, DE (Virginia)
Dwight Lowery, DB (San Jose State)
Ben Moffit, LB (South Florida)
Keith Rivers, LB (USC)
Wesley Woodyard, LB (Kentucky)
Tom Zbikowski, SS (Notre Dame)
— ND —