Off Tackle Empire, for Big Ten coverage

Wow. Mark Dantonio has a rep of coddling and inviting thugs to his program (email me for the Mark Ingram story), but who knew that a disappointing 6-6 season would inspire the players to act out like that.

Ah, the Lombardi 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." And the Big 10 Nominees are... LB Navarro Bowman, PSU LB Greg Jones, MSU DT Jared Odrick, PSU DE Corey Wootton, NW Who was left out? Bryan Bulaga, the Iowa tackle who spent 2008 driving defenders 10 yards off the ball, really hasn't garnered enough attention nationally, but his performance last year shouldn't be ignored. Brandon Graham, the incredibly talented defensive end from Michigan who was 7th in the nation for sacks, didn't make it either, even with his SI Honorable Mention status and 2nd team All Big 10 accolades. Some Points of Interest about the Lombardi Award The Ohio State Buckeye's feature the most Lombardi winners with 6 recipients since the award's inception in 1970. This is also a defensive lineman/LB dominated award. The last offensive lineman to win the Lombardi was the legendary Orlando Pace, who win twice in a row in 1995 and 1996. Some famous players to receive the Lombardi: Lee Roy Selmon, Hugh Green, Chris Spielman, Warren Sapp.