Dorsey Named to Outland, Nagurski Watch Lists
BATON ROUGE — LSU defensive tackle Glenn Dorsey has been named to the preseason watch list for two national awards — the Outland Trophy and the Bronko Nagurski Trophy — the Football Writers Association of America announced on Tuesday.
The Outland Trophy is awarded each year to college football’s top interior linemen, while the Nagurski Trophy goes to the nation’s best defensive player. Ohio State linebacker James Laurinaitis won the 2006 Nagurski Award, while Wisconsin offensive tackle Joe Thomas was the recipient of the 2006 Outland Trophy.
Dorsey is among 41 players listed to the preseason watch list for the Outland Trophy, while there are 49 players on the initial Nagurski list.
Dorsey, a senior from Gonzales, La., returns for his final season with the Tigers in 2007 after opting out of the recent NFL Draft despite being projected as a high first round pick. In three years with the Tigers, Dorsey has played in 38 games, starting 17 times, as he’s been a key component to LSU’s nationally-ranked defense during his career.
His most productive season came in 2006 when he earned First-Team All-America honors from the Associated Press, the American Football Coaches Association and Sports Illustrated.com. He was also a First-Team All-Southeastern Conference selection after recording 64 tackles, 8.5 tackles for losses and 3.5 sacks for the third-ranked Tigers. He was twice named the SEC Defensive Lineman of the Week during the 2006 season, the first time coming in a win over Arizona and then again the following week against Auburn.
Dorsey’s performance in 2006 continued a trend for the Tigers that has seen an LSU defensive lineman earn First-Team All-America honors for four straight years. Chad Lavalais was an All-American in 2003, followed by Marcus Spears in 2004 and Kyle Williams and Claude Wroten in 2005.
A year ago, Dorsey anchored an LSU defense that ranked among the top five in the nation in several categories, including a No. 3 rating in total defense (242.8 yards per game) and a No. 4 ranking in scoring defense (12.6 points per game). The Tigers also ranked No. 3 nationally in pass defense (145.7 yards per game), No. 4 in pass efficiency defense (163.3 rating), and No. 14 in rushing defense (97.1 yards per game).