Kaufusi, Pikula and Koroma named to 2015 Lombardi Award Watch List

HOUSTON - BYU football players Bronson Kaufusi, Manoa Pikula and Tejan Koroma have been named to the 2015 Rotary Lombardi Award Watch List. The award honors the best lineman or linebacker in college football.

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 candidates earned a place on the preliminary Watch List by earning All-American honors, being named to their respective all-conference teams or receiving 2015 pre-season honors.

Kaufusi, a versatile 6-foot-7, 265-pounder from Provo is BYU’s active leader in career sacks with 16, tied for No. 22 in school history while playing in 37 career games. In 2014, Kaufusi led the Cougars with seven sacks and 11.5 tackles for loss. He posted 43 total tackles and had seven quarterback hurries, six pass breakups, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery. He has been named to the 2015 Bednarik Award and Nagurski Trophy watch lists.

Pikula heads into his senior season having played in 38 career games, including 36 consecutive games at one of the crucial middle linebacker spots in BYU’s 3-4 defense or on special teams. In 2014, the 6-foot-1, 239-pound Pikula was named to the Phil Steele All-Independent team and earned 2015 Preseason All-Independent honors. He had 49 tackles last season and had one interception, along with two tackles for loss.

Koroma, already named to the 2015 Rimington Trophy Watch List, was the only true freshman center in FBS Division I to start all 13 games at center in 2014. The 6-foot-2, 280-pound Texas product helped propel the Cougar offense to 37.1 points per game, No. 15 in the nation and highest Cougar scoring average since 2001. Koroma was named FWAA Freshman All-America, ESPN True Freshman All-America, 247Sports True Freshman All-America, Sporting News All-True Freshman and Phil Steele Freshman All-America following the 2014 season.

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.

While the Watch List highlights those players who have already received national recognition, any Division I player who meets the 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 I head coaches and a panel of sportswriters and broadcasters.

The Rotary Lombardi Watch List containing 145 delegates, 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 semi-finalists for 2015.

The 2015 Watch List includes Scooby Wright III, the 2014 Rotary Lombardi Award winner. Also listed is Joey Bosa, 2014 Rotary Lombardi Award Finalist, and Semi- Finalists Shilique Calhoun and Robert Nkemdiche. The 2015 Watch List also includes Toby Weathersby, the winner of the inaugural Greater Houston High School Award and Kingsley Keke, a 2014 Finalist for the High School Award.

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 Rotary Lombardi Award
The Rotary Lombardi Award is a member of the National College Football Awards Association (NCFAA), which encompasses the most prestigious awards in college football. The 21 awards boast 700 years of tradition-selection excellence. Visit www.NCFAA.org to learn more.