Aug. 25, 2007

University of South Carolina middle linebacker Jasper Brinkley has been added to the list of “players to watch” for the 38th Rotary Lombardi Award, presented by Wachovia, which honors the top lineman in college football.

Brinkley, a 6-2, 262-pound middle linebacker from Thomson, Ga., was a first-team All-SEC selection by the Associated Press in 2006 after registering a team-leading 107 tackles, including 85 solo stops. He was fourth in the league and 55th in the country in tackles, averaging 8.2 stops per game. Brinkley, who is also on the Bronko Nagurski Trophy pre-season Watch List along with the Walter Camp Player of the Year Watch List, is a consensus pre-season All-SEC first-team selection and an All-America candidate.

The Rotary Lombardi Award, presented by Wachovia, was founded in the weeks following the death of legendary football coach Vince Lombardi from cancer in 1970. When Marie Lombardi granted the use of her husband’s name to the Rotary Club of Houston, her only stipulation was that all net proceeds from the event be donated to the American Cancer Society. Since that time, millions of dollars have been raised for the American Cancer Society.

The 38th Rotary Lombardi Award dinner will be held on December 5, 2007 at the Hilton Americas Hotel in Houston. Tickets to the event are available for sale through the Rotary Club of Houston office or from members of the Rotary Lombardi Award committee. For more information, call 713-973-9936 or visit the website at rotarylombardiaward.com.