TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Florida State’s Reggie Northrup and Terrance Smith were named to a pair of preseason watch lists on Tuesday morning including the Rotary Lombardi Award and the Butkus Award®.
Eligibility for the Rotary Lombardi Award is limited to down linemen, end-to-end, either on offense or defense, who set up no farther than 10 yards to the left or right of the ball, or linebackers who set up no farther than five yards deep from the line of scrimmage. The Butkus Award honors the nation’s best linebackers at both the college and high school levels.
Northrup and Smith ranked first and third on the team, respectively, in tackles last year combining for 209 stops in leading the Seminoles to an ACC championship and a berth in the College Football Playoff Semifinal Game against Oregon in the Rose Bowl.
In his first year as a starter, Northrup led Florida State with 122 tackles as he captured All-ACC Third Team accolades from both the media and coaches in 2014. It marked the most tackles recorded by a Seminole since Kendyll Pope collected 133 stops in 2002. Northrup ranked fourth in the ACC in total tackles and seventh in the league in tackles per game (8.7). A two-time ACC Linebacker of the Week, Northrup started all 14 games for FSU a season ago eclipsing 10 tackles six times including a career-high 13 tackles at Miami. The Jacksonville, Fla., native finished his junior campaign with 4.0 TFL’s, one pass break-up, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery, while his first career interception came at Louisville which helped seal a 42-31 victory for the Seminoles on the road.
Smith returns for his redshirt senior season as the veteran leader on the Seminole defense who finished third on the team with 87 tackles last year. The Decatur, Ga., native ranked eighth in the ACC with 8.7 tackles per game in conference-only games en route to earning All-ACC second team accolades. Smith tallied a career-high 13 tackles in FSU’s overtime victory over Clemson and his 94-yard interception return for a touchdown against Florida helped turn the momentum in favor of the Noles. He was named the Bednarik National Defensive Player of the Week after collecting 11 tackles, two for loss, and a forced fumble in a win over Notre Dame. Smith is also on the preseason watch list for the 2015 Bednarik Award presented to the College Defensive Player of the Year.
Two former Seminoles have gone on to capture the Lombardi Award including 1992 recipient Marvin Jones and 2000 winner Jamal Reynolds. A pair of Florida State players finished as runner-up for the award including Corey Simon (1999) and Andre Wadsworth (1997).
Florida State has also been honored with two previous Butkus Award winners including Paul McGowan in 1987 and Jones in 1992.
The Rotary Lombardi Award Watch List will be updated prior to the start of the 2015 season in order to identify other players who have received significant pre-season honors.
The 46th Rotary Lombardi Award will be held on December 9, 2015 at the Bayou Music Center in Houston, Texas. Proceeds from the Rotary Lombardi Awards stay in the Houston community and benefit the American Cancer Society, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Centers / Children’s Cancer Hospital, and Texas Children’s Cancer Center. For more information on the schedule of events, please visit www.rotarylombardiaward.org.
The Butkus Award watch list contains 51 candidates, honoring the retired professional jersey of Dick Butkus, who is regarded by NFL Films as the best defensive player in football history. Semifinalists will be named November 2, finalists November 23, and winners will be notified on or before December 8.
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