CHARLOTTE, N.C. (FWAA) – LSU tackle Glenn Dorsey on Monday night claimed the 2007 Bronko Nagurski Trophy, which annually is awarded to the best defensive player in college football.

Dorsey became the third tackle to win the 15-year-old award as voted upon by the Football Writers Association of America and sponsored by the Charlotte Touchdown Club. The other two tackles to win the award were Miami's Warren Sapp (1994) and Arizona's Rob Waldrop (1993), the first two winners of the award.

Dorsey beat out the 2006 Nagurski Trophy winner linebacker James Laurinaitis of Ohio State, who was in attendance and vying to become the second player to win the award in back-to-back years. Northwestern linebacker Pat Fitzgerald won the award in 1995 and 1996.

"It's a great honor," Dorsey said. "It's amazing. They (the other finalists) deserve it as much as I do. I am still at a loss for words."

Dorsey suffered a knee injury against Auburn during the 2007 season which slowed him during the later stages, but he still managed 11.5 tackles for 48 yards in losses. He had 61 tackles, 34 unassisted, three pass breakups and three quarterback hurries for the Tigers, who lost two triple overtime games during the season to Kentucky and Arkansas.

Glenn Dorsey

No. 2-ranked LSU, which will play top-ranked Ohio State in the BCS Championship Game on Jan. 7 in New Orleans, won the SEC title this season and goes into the final game with an 11-2 record. Dorsey will play on defense as will Laurinaitis for Ohio State in the game.

"I saw his ( Dorsey's) butt going up the field more than he was going backwards. I said it several times over the headset (during the game). I said, ‘Why don't we run the other way, because we're not blocking him?'" asked Nick Saban, the Alabama head coach.

"He's team leader," said LSU coach Les Miles. "He is a very humble man. He comes to work every day. ... He is representative of the award and what is right about college football. ... Game plans don't exist unless they know where No. 72 is."

The announcement was made Monday night at the annual awards banquet attended by more than 900 people at the Westin Hotel where Virginia Tech coach Frank Beamer gave the keynote address.

"You can't block him," said Beamer, whose Hokies lost to LSU this season. "I was going to give him a back's number, he was in our backfield so much. When he is healthy, he is the best."

The award is given in memory of the legendary Nagurski, a former All-American lineman at Minnesota (1927-29) and star for professional football's Chicago Bears in the 1930s.

The other three 2007 Bronko finalists were Kansas cornerback Aqib Talib, South Florida end George Selvie and Virginia end Chris Long, son of former NFL great Howie Long.

The Charlotte Touchdown Club is a non-profit organization founded in 1990 for the purpose of promoting high school, collegiate, and professional football in the Charlotte, N.C. region. The club's activities and services focus community attention on the outstanding citizenship, scholarship, sportsmanship, and leadership of area athletes and coaches. For more information, contact John Rocco (704-347-2918 or jrocco@touchdownclub.com). The official website of the Charlotte Touchdown Club is www.touchdownclub.com.

The Football Writers Association of America, a non-profit organization founded in 1941, consists of nearly 1,000 men and women across North America who cover college football for a living. The membership includes journalists, broadcasters and publicists, as well as key executives in all the areas that involve the game. The FWAA works to govern areas that include gameday operations, major awards, a national poll and its annual All-America team.

For more information on the Bronko Nagurski Trophy and the FWAA, contact FWAA executive director Steve Richardson (972-713-6198 or tiger@fwaa.com).

Related link:
• Charlotte Touchdown Club