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J Leman will have his master's degree by the time he completes his eligibility at the end of this season.
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Oct. 18, 2007
University of Illinois senior linebacker J Leman has been named a semifinalist for two major awards, the Rotary Lombardi and the Butkus Award. He is one of 12 semifinalists for the Rotary Lombardi Award, as announced by the Rotary Club of Houston, and among 10 selected for the Butkus Award, sponsored by the Downtown Athletic Club of Orlando. Leman, Dan Connor of Penn State and James Laurinaitis of Ohio State are the only three players represented on both award lists.
Leman ranks sixth in the nation and is the Big Ten leader in tackles at 11.6, a position he has held for the past 15 weeks, dating back to the 2006 season. As the team leader, Leman is one of the primary reasons for the Illinois turnaround, which has the team at 5-2 this year. He is a four-year starter at linebacker.
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The Lombardi national award is given to the most outstanding player who lines up five yards or fewer off the ball. Leman is one of eight defensive standouts and four Big Ten players selected. The Butkus Award is given to the nation's most outstanding linebacker and has twice been won by Illinois gridders--Dana Howard in 1994 and Kevin Hardy in 1995.
This Butkus Award list will be cut down to three finalists, which will be announced Thursday, Nov. 9. The winner will be announced in December at Orlando, Fla. This year's Lombardi dinner will be held Dec. 5 at the Hilton Americas Hotel in Houston.
Leman also is a candidate for the Bronko Nagurski Defensive Award, the Ronnie Lott Impact Award and was named a semifinalist for the Draddy Award given to the top all-around student-athlete.
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2007 Rotary Lombardi Semifinalists Xavier Adibi, LB, Virginia Tech Sam Baker, OT, USC Calais Campbell, DE, Miami Dan Connor, LB, Penn State Glenn Dorsey, DT, LSU James Laurinaitis, LB, Ohio State J Leman, LB, Illinois Chris Long, DE, Virginia Jake Long, OT, Michigan Alex Mack, C, California Duke Robinson, OL, Oklahoma George Selvie, DE, South Florida |
2007 Butkus Semifinalists Dan Connor, Penn State Shawn Crable, Michigan Jordon Dizon, Colorado Erin Henderson, Maryland Ali Highsmith, LSU James Laurinaitis, Ohio State J Leman, Illinois Ben Moffitt, South Florida Keith Rivers, USC Wesley Woodyard, Kentucky |
