BATON ROUGE — LSU defensive end Marcus Spears and offensive tackle Andrew Whitworth have been named to the preseason watch list for a pair of national awards, the Football Writers Association of America announced on Tuesday.
Spears, a senior from Baton Rouge, is one of 60 players from across the country named to the Bronko Nagurski Trophy watch list. The Nagurski Trophy is presented annually by the FWAA and goes to the top defensive player in college football.
Spears, a preseason All-America for the Tigers entering the 2004 season, has started 26 games at defensive end for the Tigers over the past two seasons, recording 103 tackles to go with 10 sacks. Last year, Spears returned an interception 20 yards in the third quarter against Oklahoma for what proved to be the winning points in LSU’s 21-14 win over the Sooners in the Sugar Bowl.
Whitworth, a junior from West Monroe, La., is one of 57 offensive linemen from across the nation named to the watch list for the Outland Trophy. The Outland Trophy, also awarded by the FWAA, is presented to the top lineman on either side of the football.
Whitworth, also a 2004 preseason All-America for the Tigers, enters his junior season having started 27 consecutive games at offensive tackle for LSU. In 2003, Whitworth led all Tigers with 1,003 total snaps and he ranked among the leaders on the squad with 23 pancake blocks and 82 knockdowns.
Last year, LSU defensive tackle Chad Lavalais was a finalist for both the Nagurski Trophy as well as the Outland Awards.
The winner of the awards will be announced on Dec. 9 on the ESPN College Football Awards Show in Orlando, Fla.