BATON ROUGE — LSU free safety LaRon Landry and linebacker Ali Highsmith have both been named to the preseason watch list for the Chuck Bednarik Award, the Maxwell Football Club announced.
The Bednarik Award is presented annually to the top defensive player in college football. Last year, Penn State’s Paul Posluszny was named the winner of the award.
Wednesday’s mention of Landry to the Bednarik list is the latest accolade for the senior, who goes into the 2006 season as a first-team preseason All-America by Lindy’s, Athlon Magazine, and Blue Ribbon Magazine. The Sporting News tabbed Landry as a second-team preseason All-America heading into this year’s slate.
Landry is also on the preseason watch list for the Nagurski Trophy, which also recognizes the top defensive player in college football.
Landry, a three-year starter in the secondary for the Tigers, enters his final season at LSU with 241 career tackles to his credit along with 12.5 sacks and nine interceptions. Dating back to the 2003 season, Landry has started in 35 straight games.
Landry earned third-team All-America honors from the Associated Press following the 2005 season as well as being a first-team all-conference pick. He was named second-team All-SEC in both 2003 and 2004.
Highsmith, a junior to-be from Miami, just completed his first season as a starter at linebacker for the Tigers in 2005. He ranked second on the squad in 2005 with 75 tackles, which included 9.5 tackles for losses and four sacks. He also returned a fumble 22-yards for a touchdown against Vanderbilt and he ranked among the league leaders by forcing three fumbles during the year.
Landry, Highsmith and the rest of the Tigers open the 2006 season on Sept. 2 in Tiger Stadium when LSU hosts Louisiana-Lafayette at 7 p.m.
PLAYER NAME
UNIVERSITY
POS.
CLASS
Abbate, Jonathon
Wake Forrest
LB
Jr.
Adams, Gaines
Clemson
DE
Sr.
Adibi, Xavier
Virginia Tech
LB
Jr.
Ah You, C.J.
Oklahoma
DE
Sr.
Alexander, Rufus
Oklahoma
LB
Sr.
Battle, Tra
Georgia
DB
Sr.
Bazuin, Daniel
Central Michigan
DE
Sr.
Blades, H.B.
Pittsburgh
LB
Sr.
Blake, Tommy
Texas Christian
DE
Jr.
Brown, Kareem
Miami
DL
Sr.
Brown, Kevin
UCLA
DL
Sr.
Bruce, Mkristo
Washington State
DE
Sr.
Bryant, Red
Texas A&M
DT
Jr.
Bunting, Nick
Tulsa
LB
Jr.
Burgess, Prescott
Michigan
LB
Sr.
Caldwell, Rob
U.S. Naval Academy
LB
Sr.
Carriker, Adam
Nebraska
DE
Sr.
Cason, Antoine
Arizona
DB
Jr.
Connor, Dan
Penn State
LB
Jr.
Crowder, Tim
Texas
DE
Sr.
Cushing, Brian
Southern California
LB
Soph.
Davis, Buster
Florida State
LB
Sr.
Everett, Earl
Florida
LB
Sr.
Griffin, Michael
Texas
DB
Sr.
Groves, Quinton
Auburn
DE
Jr.
Hall, Korey
Boise State
LB
Sr.
Hall, Vince
Virginia Tech
LB
Jr.
Harrell, Justin
Tennessee
DL
Sr.
Herring, Will
Auburn
LB
Sr.
LSU
LB
Jr.
Howard, Loren
Arizona State
DE
Sr.
Hughes, Daymeion
California
DB
Sr.
Jackson, Lawrence
Southern California
DE
Jr.
Landry, LaRon
LSU
DB
Sr.
Lua, Oscar
Southern California
LB
Sr.
McKeon, Corey
Nebraska
LB
Jr.
McLee, Kevin
West Virginia
LB
Sr.
McSwain, Larry
UAB
DE
Sr.
Mebane, Brandon
California
DL
Sr.
Meriweather, Brandon
Miami
DB
Sr.
Moses, Quentin
Georgia
DE
Sr.
Nelson, Reggie
Florida
DB
Jr.
Okam, Frank
Texas
DT
Jr.
Olajubutu, Sam
Arkansas
LB
Sr.
Phillips, Kenny
Miami
DB
Soph.
Pitcock, Quinn
Ohio State
DL
Sr.
Posluszny, Paul
Penn State
LB
Sr.
Pressley, DeMario
North Carolina State
DL
Soph.
Rivers, Keith
Southern California
LB
Jr.
Shaw, Tim
Penn State
LB
Sr.
Siler, Brandon
Florida
LB
Jr.
Taylor, Tony
Georgia
LB
Sr.
Thomas, Marcus
Florida
DL
Sr.
Toal, Brian
Boston College
LB
Jr.
Walters, Anthony
Clemson
LB
Sr.
Warren, Justin
Texas A&M
LB
Sr.
Weddle, Eric
Utah
DB
Sr.
Willis, Patrick
Mississippi
LB
Sr.
Woodley, LaMarr
Michigan
DE
Sr.
Zbikowski, Tom
Notre Dame
DB
Sr.