The Lott Trophy®, 2008
Verner Named First Lott IMPACT® Player of the Week
UCLA cornerback Alterraun Verner has been named the first winner of The Lott Trophy IMPACT® Player of the Week presented by Wachovia.
Verner had an interception and was a key force in a Bruin defense that helped UCLA to a 27-24 upset win over Tennessee Monday night.
UCLA will receive $1,000 for its general scholarship fund in recognition of Verner’s performance.
Verner was selected by The Legends Football Coaches Association. Former USC Head Coach John Robinson, an LFCA member who broadcast the Tennessee-UCLA game on radio on Monday, commented on Verner’s play.
“Verner made play after play in helping UCLA get this big upset. In the coverage scheme UCLA was employing, Verner was left alone covering one-on-one the entire game. Despite this challenging responsibility he made a number of critical tackles that gave UCLA the victory.”
Named after Hall of Famer Ronnie Lott, The Lott Trophy® is awarded to college football’s Defensive IMPACT® Player of the Year. Now in its fifth year, The Lott Trophy® is the first college football award to equally recognize athletic performance and the personal character attributes of the player.
Sponsored by The Pacific Club IMPACT Foundation® in Newport Beach, Ca., the award is given to a player who exhibits the same characteristics Lott embodied during his distinguished career: Integrity, Maturity, Performance, Academics, Community and Tenacity.
David Pollack of Georgia won the initial Lott Trophy® in 2004. DeMeco Ryans of Alabama won the award in 2005 Daymeion Hughes of Cal was the recipient in 2006 and Glenn Dorsey of LSU in 2007. Georgia, Alabama, Cal and LSU each received $25,000 for their general scholarship funds. In four years, the Pacific Club IMPACT Foundation® has donated more than $450,000 to various charities, including scholarships for the four universities.
Voters for the award include selected members of the national media, previous finalists, the Board of Directors of the Pacific Club IMPACT Foundation®, The IMPACT® Foundation Board of Advisors comprised of many retired NFL players and the Legends Coaches, a distinguished group of former head college coaches.
LOTT SHOTS:
Missouri Linebacker Sean Weatherspoon had two interceptions (one returned for a 35-yard touchdown) to help the Tigers defeat Illinois, 52-42…
Georgia tackle Jeff Owens is out for the season after suffering a knee injury in the Bulldogs’ opener against Georgia Southern…
Florida linebacker Brandon Spikes sat out the Gators’ opening game against Hawaii, but is expected back this week against Miami…
Among those on the Watch List who also had interceptions the first week were Eric Berry of Tennessee, Bo McNally of Stanford (for a 34-yard touchdown) and Mark Herzlich of Boston College…Safety William Moore of Missouri and Linebacker Brit Miller of Illinois each had a dozen tackles…Linebacker Aaron Curry of Wake Forest led his team with 7 tackles (including 1.5 for losses) in a 41-13 win over Baylor…Safety Taylor Mays of USC had six tackles (1.5 for losses) and broke up a pass in the Trojans’ 52-7 pounding of Virginia…2007 Lott Trophy® finalist J Leman of Illinois was among those cut by NFL teams. Leman had signed with Minnesota as a free agent.