CHARLOTTE, N.C. (FWAA) – The Charlotte Touchdown Club, in conjunction with the Football Writers Association of America and Florida East Coast Railway, proudly announce Randy Rhino as recipient of the 2013 Bronko Nagurski Legends Award, which recognizes outstanding defensive football players from the past 40 years.

Rhino

The award will be presented formally during the annual Bronko Nagurski Trophy Awards Banquet held Monday, December 9. Randy Rhino's athletic career began in Charlotte where he was a 3-sport star at South Mecklenburg High School and helped lead Olympic High School to the 1970 North Carolina State High School Championship game. Following in his father's footsteps, Rhino attended Georgia Tech where he was first-team All-American in 1972, 1973 and 1974. Rhino's son, Kelley also played for Georgia Tech and surpassed Rhino's career and season punt return records.

"I am honored to even be mentioned in the same breath of Bronko Nagurski and some of the names of previous Legends Awards honorees," said Randy Rhino. "I would certainly like to thank my parents for their support and Coach Dick Bestwick, my freshman coach at Georgia Tech, who converted me to defensive back."

Rhino continued, "Football is so much like life. We all get knocked down in football, and you have to get back up as quickly as you can. Some get up faster than others, and some take more time. But in the end, every player gets knocked down. As we all know it's just the same in life!"

Rhino was named to Georgia Tech's All-Time Team in 1991, and is a member of the Georgia Tech and Georgia Sports Halls of Fame. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2002 and inducted into the Atlanta Sports Hall of Fame in 2012.

Currently, Randy Rhino is living in Atlanta and works in the Georgia Tech training room as the Official Team Chiropractor for the Georgia Tech Athletic Association.

Rhino joins the list of elite Bronko Legends Award winners including: Bubba Smith and Alan Page (2007), Ted Hendricks (2008), Roger Wehrli (2009), Mike McCoy (2010), Jack Youngblood (2011), and Larry Jacobson (2012).

The Bronko Nagurski Legends Award, sponsored by Florida East Coast Railway, was initially presented in 2007 to players from the 1966 season, the first season the FWAA All-American Teams were separated into defense and offense.

"Randy Rhino represents all that is good about college athletics having demonstrated excellence on the playing field and in life," said James R. Hertwig, CEO of Florida East Coast Railway.

"Florida East Coast Railway is honored to sponsor this award and takes great pride in our support of the Charlotte Touchdown Club and its mission to promote Citizenship, Scholarship, Sportsmanship and Leadership."

Randy Rhino is a great representative from our FWAA All-America Team. Not only was he a great player for Georgia Tech, he is also a Hall of Famer in his professional and personal life. He represents the best of what college football can do for a person," commented Steve Richardson, Executive Director for The Football Writers Association of America.

About the Florida East Coast Railway
FECR is a regional freight railroad that extends along a 351-mile corridor between Jacksonville, Fla., and Miami, Fla., with exclusive rail access to the Port of Palm Beach, Port Everglades (Ft. Lauderdale) and the Port of Miami. For more information, visit fecrwy.com.

The Bronko Nagurski Trophy is a member of the National College Football Awards Association (NCFAA). The NCFAA was founded in 1997 as a coalition of the major collegiate football awards to protect, preserve and enhance the integrity, influence and prestige of the game's predominant awards. The NCFAA encourages professionalism and the highest standards for the administration of its member awards and the selection of their candidates and recipients. For more information, visit the association's official website, ncfaa.org.

The Bronko Nagurski Trophy is presented annually by the Charlotte Touchdown Club and Football Writers Association of America to the nation's most outstanding NCAA defensive football player. The Charlotte Touchdown Club also honors local college and high school football players and over the last decade has raised nearly $1,500,000 for student athletic scholarships throughout the Charlotte Metro Area.

About the Charlotte Touchdown Club
The Charlotte Touchdown Club is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization founded in 1991 with the goal of promoting high school, collegiate, and professional football in the Charlotte, North Carolina 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, call 704-347-2918 or visit touchdownclub.com.

All-Time Bronko Nagurski Legends Award Winners
• 2013: Randy Rhino, Georgia Tech
• 2012: Larry Jacobson, Nebraska
• 2011: Jack Youngblood, Florida
• 2010: Mike McCoy, Notre Dame
• 2009: Roger Wehrli, Missouri
• 2008: Ted Hendricks, Miami
• 2007: Bubba Smith and George Webster, Michigan State; Jim Lynch and Alan Page, Notre Dame