Hawk Named Semifinalist for Lombardi Award – Ohio State Buckeyes
10/19/2004 12:00:00 AM | Football
Oct. 19, 2004
David Pollack, who elected to return for his senior season at Georgia after earning a spot as a finalist for the Rotary Lombardi Award, remains on track to return to Houston this December as he was named one of 12 semifinalists for the 35th Rotary Lombardi Award. The results of voting by the nearly 500 members of the Rotary Lombardi Award selection committee were released on Tuesday.
The winner of the 2004 Rotary Lombardi Award will be announced at the conclusion of the 35th anniversary Rotary Lombardi Award Dinner, which will be held at the Hilton Americas Hotel in Houston. Since its inception in 1971, the Rotary Lombardi Award has raised over $3 million for the American Cancer Society.
Joining Pollack as 2004 semifinalists are a pair of Oklahoma Sooners, offensive tackle Jamal Brown and defensive end Dan Cody; Virginia guard Elton Brown, Southern California defensive end Shaun Cody, Minnesota center Greg Eslinger, Marshall defensive end Jonathan Goddard, UCLA linebacker Spencer Havner, Ohio State linebacker A. J. Hawk, Wisconsin defensive end Erasmus James, Texas linebacker Derrick Johnson, and LSU defensive end Marcus Spears.
Nine of the 12 semifinalists are from the defensive side of the ball, including six defensive ends and three linebackers. Last year defensive tackle Tommie Harris of Oklahoma became the first interior defender to win the award since Warren Sapp in 1994, snapping a streak of four straight wins by defensive ends.
Pollack is tied for the SEC lead in sacks with four this year and needs just two more to set a Georgia career mark. Elton Brown was named the top blocker in the ACC last season and the Cavs have allowed the fewest sacks in the ACC this year. Jamal Brown has graded out the highest of any Oklahoma lineman in every game this season. Dan Cody picked up 2.5 sacks last week at Kansas State to run his career total to 19, sixth best at OU. Shaun Cody is a four-year starter at USC and has six sacks this season. Eslinger anchors the middle of the Gophers offense that is averaging over 400 yards per game. Goddard has 9.5 sacks this season and scored two defensive touchdowns. Havner has ranked among the nation’s leaders in tackles all year. Hawk leads the Big 10 in with 12.3 tackles per game. James, who will miss this week’s game with an ankle injury, leads the Big Ten with seven sacks. Johnson was named the Big XII Defensive Player of the Week for the second time this season and ran his career total tackles for loss total to 56, second best in Longhorn history. Spears anchors an LSU defense that ranks ninth in the country.
The list of 12 semifinalists will be cut down to four finalists during the next round of voting, which will begin on Monday, October 25. The four finalists will be announced on Tuesday, November 9.
35th ROTARY LOMBARDI AWARD SEMIFINALISTS
| NAME | SCHOOL | POS | HT | WT | YR | HOMETOWN |
| Elton Brown | Virginia | OG | 6-6 | 338 | Sr. | Hampton, VA |
| Jamal Brown | Oklahoma | OT | 6-6 | 313 | Sr. | Lawton, OK |
| Dan Cody | Oklahoma | DE | 6-5 | 270 | Sr. | Ada, OK |
| Shaun Cody | USC | DE | 6-4 | 295 | Sr. | Hacienda, CA |
| Greg Eslinger | Minnesota | C | 6-3 | 285 | Jr. | Bismark, ND |
| Jonathan Goddard | Marshall | DE | 6-0 | 245 | Sr. | Jacksonville, FL |
| Spencer Havner | UCLA | LB | 6-4 | 236 | Jr. | Nevada City, CA |
| A.J. Hawk | Ohio State | LB | 6-2 | 238 | Jr. | Centerville, OH |
| Erasmus James | Wisconsin | DE | 6-4 | 263 | Sr. | Pembroke Pines, FL |
| Derrick Johnson | Texas | LB | 6-4 | 230 | Sr. | Waco, TX |
| David Pollack | Georgia | DE | 6-3 | 260 | Sr. | Snellville, GA |
| Marcus Spears | LSU | DE | 6-4 | 298 | Sr. | Baton Rouge, LA |
