University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Batiste Added To The Lombardi Watch List
8/10/2006 12:00:00 AM | Football
Aug. 10, 2006
HATTIESBURG, Miss. - Senior offensive lineman George Batiste was one of 58 players added to the Lombardi Award Watch list today. The new players were added to the preliminary list of 43 players who were announced in March, brining the total to 101.
Batiste, named to the 2006 Outland Trophy Preseason Watch List on June 19, has been tabbed preseason All-Conference USA by Athlon's, Street and Smiths and The Sporting News. He returns for the fourth-straight season as the starter at right guard on the offensive line. The Avondale, La., native was a 2005 first-team All-Conference USA selection, also earning the honor from collegefootballnews.com. He was also selected as the No. 2 offensive lineman and the No. 16 overall player in Conference USA by the web site. He did not allow a sack in 2005 and led the offensive line with 11 pancakes and 54 knockdowns.
The 37th Rotary Lombardi Award, presented by Wachovia Bank, which honors the top lineman in college football while raising funds for the American Cancer Society, will be presented in Houston on December 6 at the Hilton Americas Hotel.
Any player who meets the basic award criteria (a down lineman on either side of the ball--including tight ends, and linebackers who line up within five yards of the ball) is eligible to receive votes. This year's list is almost evenly divided between offensive and defensive players, with 54 defenders and 47 offensive players currently listed.
Founded in the weeks following the death of legendary football coach Vince Lombardi from cancer in 1970, the Rotary Lombardi Award, presented by Wachovia Bank, has annually delivered upon the mission set forth by Marie Lombardi when she first granted the use of her late husband's name. Her only stipulation was that all net proceeds from the event be donated to the American Cancer Society and millions of dollars have been generated since that time. In addition to generating the annual donation to ACS, attendees to the 2005 combined to sponsor 31 pediatric cancer patients for a week at Camp Discovery, a camp near Kerrville, TX dedicated to bringing the joy and fun of summer camp to young cancer patients.
Tickets for the 37th Rotary Lombardi Award, presented by Wachovia Bank, are currently on sale through the Rotary Club of Houston office or members of the Rotary Lombardi Award Committee. Please call (713) 973-9936 for information on tickets or other opportunities to support the work of the dinner.
The Rotary Club of Houston, in operation since 1912, is an association of more than 350 successful business professionals, all prominent in their individual fields of endeavor, who volunteer their efforts through the work of some two dozen club committees. Assistance is provided to such diverse groups as troubled youngsters, former prison inmates, business oriented high school students, families of cancer patients, deserving college scholarship candidates and the nation's cancer research efforts. The club's most recent community project is the East End Healthy Children's Collaborative which provides much needed access to primary health care for residents on Houston's East side.
The Rotary Lombardi Award, presented by Wachovia Bank, and its annual donations to the American Cancer Society are also bolstered by the contributions of its corporate partners: Shell Chemicals, Continental Airlines, Ben Bridge Jewelers, Rolex and Humana , in addition to its media partners, the Houston Chronicle, KPRC TV and ESPN 790.
37th Rotary Lombardi Award Watch List
Victor Abiamiri , DE, Notre Dame
Gaines Adams DE, Clemson
Xavier Adibi , LB, Virginia Tech
Rufus Alexander LB Oklahoma
Mike Alston, LB, Toledo
Will Arnold , G, LSU
Baraka Atkins , DE Miami
Sam Baker, OT, USC
Antwan Barnes, LB, FIU
Kirk Barton , OT, Ohio State
George Batiste, OG, Southern Miss
Dan Bazuin, DE, Central Michigan
Josh Beekman , OG, Boston College
H.B. Blades, LB, Pittsburgh
Justin Blalock, OT, Texas
Tommy Blake, DE, TCU
Keyonvis Bouie, LB, FIU
Kevin Brown , DT, UCLA
Levi Brown, OT, Penn State
Mkristo Bruce, DE, Washington State
Rob Caldwell, LB, Navy
Adam Carriker, DE, Nebraska
Andrew Carnahan , OT Arizona State
Brian Chacos , OT, North Carolina
Brandon Cox, OL, UL Lafayette
Cameron Craig , DE, Army
Tim Crowder DE Texas
Brent Curvey , DT , Iowa State
Buster Davis , LB, Florida State
Keyunta Dawson , DE, Texas Tech
Tim Duckworth , G, Auburn
Chris Ellis , DE, Virginia Tech
Mark Fenton C Colorado
Andre Fluellen , DT, Florida State
Doug Free, OT, Northern Illinois
Cedric Gagne-Marcoux, C, UCF
Kiki Gonzalez , DT, Akron
John Greco, OT, Toledo
Quentin Groves , DE, Auburn
Korey Hall, LB Boise State
Vince Hall, LB, Virginia Tech
Jonny Harline, TE, BYU
Clark Harris, TE, Rutgers
Ryan Harris , OT, Notre Dame
Nick Hayden , DL, Wisconsin
Justin Hickman , DE, UCLA
Loren Howard , DE, Arizona State
Ameer Ismail, LB, Western Michigan
Keith Jackson , DT, Arkansas
Lawrence Jackson, DE, USC
Tanner Jenkins, C, Arkansas State
Ryan Kalil, C, USC
Doug Legursky , C, Marshall
Enoka Lucas , C, Oregon
Dylan Lineberry, OG, North Texas
Chris Long, DE, Virginia
Kurt Mann , C , Nebraska
Ray McDonald , DE, Florida
Kevin McLee, LB, West Virginia
Larry McSwain, DE, UAB
Brandon Mebane, DT, California
Ramel Meekins , DT, Rutgers
Zach Miller , TE Arizona State
Jarvis Moss , DE , Florida
Quentin Moses, DE, Georgia
Dan Mozes , C, West Virginia
Matt Muncy, LB, Ohio
Alex Obomese , DL, UTEP
David Ochoa , G, Kansas
Sam Olajubutu, LB, Arkansas
Chase Ortiz, DE, TCU
Jeff Perrett , OT, Tulsa
Jeremy Perry , G, Oregon State
Quinn Pitcock , DT, Ohio State
Paul Posluszny, LB Penn State
Manuel Ramirez , G, Texas Tech
Justin Rogers, DE, SMU
SirVincent Rogers , OT, Houston
Samson Satele, OG Hawai'i
Matt Shaughnessy , DL, Wisconsin
Elliot Siefert, OT, Temple
Kelvin Smith , LB, Syracuse
Matt Spaeth, TE, Minnesota
Arron Spears, OT, Tennessee
Darnell Stapleton , C, Rutgers
Scott Stephenson , C, Iowa State
Matt Sullivan, C, Notre Dame
Kelly Talavou , DT, Utah
Herb Taylor, OT, TCU
Shannon Tevaga, G, UCLA
Joe Thomas, OT, Wisconsin
Marcus Thomas , DT, Florida
Tavo Tupola , OT, Utah
Robert Turner, OG, New Mexico
Steve Vallos , OT, Wake Forest
Greg Wafford , OT, Kansas State
Thaddaeus Washington, LB, Colorado
Patrick Willis, LB, Mississippi
Eric Wood , C, Lousiville
LaMarr Woodley , DE, Michigan
Kyle Young, C Fresno State
