HOUSTON -- A year after both earning first-team all-Mid-American Conference status, senior defensive end Marcus Johnson (Youngstown, OH/Ursuline) and senior outside linebacker Terna Nande (Grand Rapids, MI/Creston) have earned spots on the 2005 Lombardi Award Watch List, presented annually to the nation's top down lineman or defensive player who lines up within five yards of the ball by the Rotary Club of Houston.
Johnson is coming off a breakout season in which he moved from defensive tackle to defensive end and led the RedHawks in quarterback sacks and tackles for loss. In his first season as a starter, Johnson totaled 54 total tackles, including 7.5 sacks and 12.5 tackles for loss. Johnson was named MAC East Defensive Player of the Week after a Sept. 18 defeat of Ohio in which he totaled six tackles and two quarterback sacks. Three weeks later, he totaled a career-high three quarterback sacks and forced a fumble in a defeat of Kent State. A key factor in a defense that ranked among the nation's top 30 in rushing defense last season, Johnson is arguably the top returning defensive end in the MAC for 2005.
Known for his freakish physical abilities that include a bench press of more than 500 lbs. and a 4.4 time in the 40-yard dash, Nande was a first-team all-MAC selection last season after earning second-team plaudits as a sophomore. A versatile player who contributed both at outside linebacker or as a down lineman on passing downs, Nande ranked third on the team with 86 tackles, including 58 solo hits, in 2004. Nande also was in on nine tackles for loss and 3.5 quarterbacks sacks. A third-year starter who is an important contributor to one of the MAC's and possibly the nation's top linebacking units, Nande is coming off a strong outing in the 2004 Independence Bowl in which he contributed 10 tackles and three stops for loss. He has 34 career tackles for loss entering his senior season.
Johnson and Nande are two of seven MAC players named to the initial watch list, which consists of 54 players who earned All-American and/or first-team all-conference status in 2004.
While the Watch Lists highlights players who have already received national recognition, any NCAA Division I player who meets the position requirements is eligible for consideration from the Rotary Lombardi Selection Committee, which is comprised of more than 500 members, including all past finalists, all Division I head coaches and a panel of sportswriters and broadcasters. The Rotary Lombardi Watch List, 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 Semifinalists for 2005.
