Temple University Athletics
Kyle Friend Added to Rotary Lombardi Award Watch List
8.25.15 | Football, Kyle Friend - All-American Candidate
PHILADELPHIA – Temple senior center Kyle Friend has been added to the Rotary Lombardi Award watch list. He joins teammates senior linebacker Tyler Matakevich and redshirt junior Praise Martin-Oguike on the 2015 watch list. He is also on the Rimington Award watch list for the second year in a row, given to the nation's top center.
Friend has appeared in 35 games as an Owl and started 33 straight, leading all active Owls' players. In addition to making the All-American Athletic Conference First Team by Athlon Sports, he also won the 2015 Owl Club Academic Award for the best cumulative GPA on the football team.
Overall, six Owls have been nominated for nine national awards this preseason. In addition to the Rotary Lombardi Award, Matakevich has made the watch lists for the Nagurski, Bednarik, and Butkus Awards. Junior running back Jahad Thomas is on the Doak Walker Award and Paul Hornung Award lists for the nation's top running back, while junior quarterback PJ Walker has received consideration for the Manning Award, the only national quarterback award to consider postseason performance. Redshirt senior defensive linemen Hershey Walton has been nominated for the Allstate AFCA Good Works Team.
The Houston Sports Authority presents the Rotary Lombardi Award to the best lineman, offensive or defensive, or linebacker annually. The playing requirements limit eligibility 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," according to the website. No Owl has ever won the Rotary Lombardi Award, named after NFL Hall of Fame coach Vince Lombardi, who was part of Fordham University's renowned "Seven Blocks of Granite" offensive line in 1936 and '37. The Owls are one of only four teams in the American Conference to have multiple student-athletes on the Rotary Lombardi Award watch list.
Friend has appeared in 35 games as an Owl and started 33 straight, leading all active Owls' players. In addition to making the All-American Athletic Conference First Team by Athlon Sports, he also won the 2015 Owl Club Academic Award for the best cumulative GPA on the football team.
Overall, six Owls have been nominated for nine national awards this preseason. In addition to the Rotary Lombardi Award, Matakevich has made the watch lists for the Nagurski, Bednarik, and Butkus Awards. Junior running back Jahad Thomas is on the Doak Walker Award and Paul Hornung Award lists for the nation's top running back, while junior quarterback PJ Walker has received consideration for the Manning Award, the only national quarterback award to consider postseason performance. Redshirt senior defensive linemen Hershey Walton has been nominated for the Allstate AFCA Good Works Team.
The Houston Sports Authority presents the Rotary Lombardi Award to the best lineman, offensive or defensive, or linebacker annually. The playing requirements limit eligibility 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," according to the website. No Owl has ever won the Rotary Lombardi Award, named after NFL Hall of Fame coach Vince Lombardi, who was part of Fordham University's renowned "Seven Blocks of Granite" offensive line in 1936 and '37. The Owls are one of only four teams in the American Conference to have multiple student-athletes on the Rotary Lombardi Award watch list.
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