Eligibility for the Rotary Lombardi Award is limited to: 1) offensive or defensive end-to-end down linemen who set up no farther than 10 yards to the left or right of the ball and 2) linebackers who set up no farther than five yards deep from the line of scrimmage. All candidates must be eligible to play college sports under the rules and regulations of the NCAA.
The candidates earned a place on the Official Watch List by: earning All-American honors last season; being named last season to their respective all-conference first team as determined by the conference's head coaches; being projected to be an All-American or first team all-conference player for the coming season; or by nomination approved by the nominations committee.
For Jackson, this is the third watch list he has been named to over the past week. The Lakeland, Fla., native has also appeared on the Bronko Nagurski Trophy and Dick Butkus Award lists. A first-team all-Sun Belt Conference pick at linebacker in 2011 and a preseason all-league selection this season, Jackson posted a team-high 109 tackles last season. His 9.1 tackles per game ranked third in the league and 39th nationally, and he was also the SBC leader with 17 tackles for loss.
Smith second-team all-Sun Belt honors in 2011 after starting all 12 games at right guard. The Murfreesboro, Tenn., product enters his senior season having started 33 games during his three-year career. He finished the year an overall grade of 80% for the season in 2011, being credited with 112 pancake or knockdown blocks in 12 games. He allowed just three sacks on the year, and was part of a unit that gave up just 1.83 sacks per game. Smith also helped WKU average a league-best 181.6 rushing yards per game last season.
Hilltoppers On 2102 NCFAA Watch Lists<br>John Mackey Award - Jack Doyle (Sr., TE)<br>Bronko Nagurski Trophy - Andrew Jackson (Jr., LB)<br>Dick Butkus Award - Andrew Jackson (Jr., LB)<br>Rotary Lombardi Award - Andrew Jackson (Jr., LB); Adam Smith (Sr., OL)
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