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3-8-06 - Turner Named To Lombardi Award Watch List
Three-year starter at guard to spend time at offensive tackle this
spring.
HOUSTON — University of New Mexico senior offensive lineman Robert
Turner has been named to the preliminary Watch List for the 37th
Rotary Lombardi Award, presented by Wachovia Bank. Turner, who will
learn the offensive tackle position this spring, was a first team all-
Mountain West Conference honoree at guard in 2005. He is one of three
returning starters back on the New Mexico offensive line this season
and the fourth member of The Hitmen named to the Lombardi watch list
since 2003.
Turner enjoyed a career year in 2005 as he averaged 8.9 knockdown
blocks per game and was one of the most assignment sound players on
the offensive line. The Austin, Texas native posted overall
performance grades of 88 percent or more in nine games and a grade
of 90 percent or above in six games. He also had career-high overall
performance grades of 95 percent in road games against TCU and Utah,
which featured two of the league’s premier defensive fronts.
A first team Football Writers Association Freshman All-American in
2003, Turner has started all 36 games of his career. His average of
10.3 knockdown blocks per game during his three years is the best of
any lineman during head coach Rocky Long’s eight-year tenure at UNM.
The 44 preliminary candidates earned a place on the initial Watch
List by earning All-American honors at the end of the 2005 or
previous seasons, or by being named to their respective all-
conference team as selected by the conference’s head coaches. The
Watch List will be updated prior to the start of the 2006 season, in
order to identify those players who have been selected as pre-season
honors candidates.
Eligibility for the Rotary Lombardi Award is limited to down linemen
and those defensive players who line up within five yards of the
football. While the Watch Lists highlights players who have already
received national recognition, any Division I player who meets the
position requirements is eligible for consideration by the Rotary
Lombardi Selection Committee. This committee is comprised of over 500
members, including all past finalists, all Division I head coaches
and a panel of sportswriters and broadcasters. The Rotary Lombardi
Watch List, intended as a reference tool for the Selection Committee,
will be periodically updated and revised through the conclusion of
the voting to determine the 12 Semifinalists for 2006.
Founded in the weeks following the death of legendary football coach
Vince Lombardi from cancer in 1970, the Rotary Lombardi Award
presented by Wachovia Bank has annually delivered upon the mission
set forth by Marie Lombardi when she first granted the use of her
late husband’s name. Her only stipulation was that all net proceeds
from the event be donated to the American Cancer Society and over
$3.3 million has been generated since that time, including over
$140,000 in 2005. |
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