Football: Two Cajuns named to Rotary Lombardi Award list

March 3, 2009 Daily Advertiser

HOUSTON – UL’s Brad Bustle and Chris Fisher are among 48 players named to the 2009 preliminary watch list for the Rotary Lombardi Award.

The pair has helped the Cajuns become one of the most dominating running games in the country. Since 2006, the Cajuns have rushed for 8,447 yards and 75 scores, including 3,164 yards last season -7th in the nation.

Bustle, who attened Lafayette High, and Fisher, who went to STM, blocked for three seasons for running back Tyrell Fenroy, who became just the seventh player in history with four consecutive 1,000-yard rushing seasons. They also blocked for and protected quarterback Michael Desormeaux, who became just the eighth QB with back-to-back 1,000-yard rushing seasons.

Eligibility for the Rotary Lombardi Award is limited to down linemen and those defensive players who line up within five yards of the football.

The candidates earned a place on the preliminary watch list by earning All-American honors or by being named to their respective all-conference first team as selected by the conference’s head coaches. The Rotary Lombardi Award Watch List will be updated prior to the start of the 2009 season in order to identify those players who have been selected as pre-season honors candidates.

Troy University has the most players on the preliminary watch list with three players. Alabama, Central Michigan, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Penn State, South Carolina and Texas all have two players on the list. In conference lineups, the Big 12 and the SEC tied for the most players with eight, followed by the Sun Belt with six and the Western Athletic with five. The Big Ten and the Pac-10 have four each. The Big East, Mountain West and the Mid-American conferences have three players each. Rounding out the list are the ACC and Conference USA with two each.

While the Watch List highlights those players who have already received national recognition, any Division 1 player who meets the position requirements is eligible for consideration from the Rotary Lombardi Selection Committee. This committee is comprised of more than 500 members, including all past winners and finalists, all Division 1-A 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 2009.

The 40th Rotary Lombardi Award dinner will be held on December 9, 2009 in Houston. For more information call the Rotary Club of Houston at 713-973-9936 or visit the website at www.rotarylombardiaward.org.

Founded in 1912, the Rotary Club of Houston, a service organization comprised of professional and community leaders, serves our community through its numerous public health, youth, international and local activities. Projects and events such as the Jesse H. Jones Rotary House International, the Rotary Lombardi Award. the Distinguished Citizens Award, Camp Enterprise, Polio eradication and much more touch the lives of our global community.