Oct. 21, 2009

University of South Carolina standout linebacker Eric Norwood has been named to the first-team Midseason All-America Team by the Sporting News and is a quarterfinalist for the annual Lott Trophy, it was announced today.

The Sporting News midseason recognition is the second of its kind for Norwood. Last week, the Gamecocks’ career leader in both sacks and tackles for loss was named to Phil Steele’s 2009 midseason first-team All-America squad.

Norwood is one of 20 players still in line for the Lott Trophy, the Pacific Club IMPACT Foundation has announced.

Named after Hall of Famer Ronnie Lott, the Lott Trophy is awarded to college football’s Defensive IMPACT Player of the Year. Now in its sixth year, the Lott Trophy is the first college football award to equally recognize athletic performance and the personal character attributes of the player.

The award is given to the player who exhibits the same characteristics Lott embodied during his distinguished career: Integrity, Maturity, Performance, Academics, Community and Tenacity.

Norwood, a 6-1, 252-pounder from Acworth, Ga., is a two-time first-team All-SEC selection. He is the SEC active leader in both career sacks (28.0) and career tackles for loss (49.5). He leads the SEC in sacks this season with 6.0 and is fifth in the league in tackles for loss while leading the Gamecocks in tackles. He has played in all 45 games over the past four seasons, making 32 consecutive starts.