Notre Dame Linebackers Make Lott Impact Trophy Watch List
Notre Dame senior linebackers Drue Tranquill and Te'von Coney were both named to the Lott IMPACT Trophy Watch List.
The Lott IMPACT Trophy is named after former USC safety and college football Hall of Famer Ronnie Lott, and it is given out each season to a defensive player that excels on and off the field.
From the trophy's website:
"The IMPACT award is awarded annually to individuals who demonstrate excellence in the field of athletics and recognizes college football’s Defensive Player of the Year who best exemplifies the IMPACT acronym: Integrity, Maturity, Performance, Academics, Community and Tenacity."
Tranquill and Coney were Notre Dame's top playmaking front seven players last season, and in 2018 they will be playing side-by-side.
The team's starting rover in 2017, Tranquill finished the season with 85 tackles, 10.5 tackles for loss, 1.5 sucks, three break ups, three quarterback hurries and three fumble recoveries. If he stays healthy in 2018, Tranquill should see a major jump in production now that he is so much closer to the ball.
Coney began the season as the third linebacker in the rotation and the first player off the bench, but by the middle of the season he had not only emerged as a starter, but the best playmaker inside for the Irish defense. Despite playing under 600 snaps, Coney led Notre Dame with 116 tackles and 13 tackles for loss.
He played both Mike and Buck last season, but Coney will focus on playing the Mike spot in his final season.
The trophy was first handed out in 2004. Former Notre Dame star Manti Te'o is the only Irish defender to win the award, a feat he accomplished in 2012. Former Iowa standout linebacker Josey Jewell won the award last season.
Five of Notre Dame's 2018 opponents have players named to the watch list. USC also has a pair of linebackers on the list, seniors Cameron Smith and Porter Gustin. Northwestern senior linebacker Nate Hall, Michigan junior linebacker Khaleke Hudson, Stanford senior linebacker Bobby Okereke and Navy senior safety Sean Williams were also named to the watch list.
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