The Lombardi Award included more than 12 dozen players on its initial watch list this fall, giving media members and fans plenty of opportunity to poke fun at the preseason awards process.
It also kept SEC sports information directors that much busier Tuesday at Media Days, as seven different conference programs claim at least one player on the watch list.
The Lombardi Award goes to the best lineman or linebacker in the country.
There were some anomalies on the list — four-star freshman Texas A&M defensive tackle Kingsley Keke made it, for example, while five-star freshman Texas A&M defensive tackle Daylon Mack is not. Four-star freshman LSU offensive tackle Toby Weathersby also made the list as a surprise candidate.
Alabama, Auburn, Georgia, LSU, Ole Miss and Texas A&M each have multiple players on the radar of the Lombardi Award this preseason.
Here are the players on the list:
LB Reggie Ragland, Alabama
C Ryan Kelly, Alabama
DT A’Shawn Robinson, Alabama
OT Avery Young, Auburn
LB Cassanova McKinzy, Auburn
LB Antonio Morrison, Florida
G Greg Pyke, Georgia
LB Jordan Jenkins, Georgia
LB Leonard Floyd, Georgia
G Vadal Alexander, LSU
OT Toby Weathersby, LSU
DT Robert Nkemdiche, Ole Miss
OT Laremy Tunsil, Ole Miss
DE Myles Garrett, Texas A&M
DT Kingsley Keke, Texas A&M
An itinerant journalist, Christopher has moved between states 11 times in seven years. Formally an injury-prone Division I 800-meter specialist, he now wanders the Rockies in search of high peaks.
