FWAA, Charlotte Touchdown Club unveil defensive legends award June 2007 Vol. 45, No. 2 The FWAA and Charlotte Touchdown defensive player in college football. Club will present the first annual Bronko Starting in 2008, a special FWAA Blue Nagurski Legends Award in conjunction Ribbon Veterans committee will select the Inside this issue with the Bronko Nagurski Trophy this com- Nagurski Legends winner from the 11 ing December in Charlotte. players who were named to the 1967 The FWAA began selecting separate FWAA All-America Defensive Team. And President’s Column defensive and in 2009, offensive All- the com- Page 2 America mittee will squads during select a the 1966 sea- player FWAA news and notes son. And the from the first annual 1968 Page 3 award will go FWAA All- to the players America at Michigan Defensive State and team and All-America team checklist Notre Dame so forth. who played in A Bronko Pages 4-5 one of the Nagurski greatest de- Watch List fensive games for the of the 20th 2007 sea- Nagurski Award watch list Century. The son is on teams were Page 6 of Page 6 ranked No. 1 and 2 in the country when this Fifth Down. In this issue, there also is they met in East Lansing that season. the complete 2007 FWAA All-America The historic game ended in a 10-10 tie. Watch List (Pages 4-5) and the Outland Outland Trophy watch list For the only time in history, two players Trophy Watch List (Page 7), along with from two teams made the 1966 FWAA All- the members of the 2007 FWAA All- Page 7 America team on the defensive side of the America Committee. ball: Notre Dame’s Jim Lynch and Alan The FWAA and the Charlotte Touch- Page and Michigan State’s Bubba Smith down Club have combined to award the and George Webster. One of those play- Bronko Nagurski Trophy since 1995, two Grantland Rice Trophy ers or a representative from each school years after the FWAA started a Defensive is expected to be in Charlotte on Dec.3 for Player of the Year Award. the presentation when the 2007 Bronko Page 8 Nagurski Trophy is awarded to the best Page 2 THE FIFTH DOWN President Mike Griffith Knoxville News Sentinel President’s column First Vice President Ron Higgins There was a time BCS sites. Memphis Commercial Appeal when the Sugar Anyone who has covered a John Second Vice President Bowl was the Junker-Shawn Schoeffler pro- George Schroeder sweetest college duced Fiesta Bowl knows how good The Daily Oklahoman football production things can be at bowl championship on New Year’s sites. Executive Director Day. Enter Duane Lewis, a 35-year-old Steve Richardson Fans and media Plaquemine, La., native who has re- alike enjoyed the turned to his home state to take over as 2007 Directors novelty of good the Sugar Bowl’s Director of Communi- Eric Bailey times and Cajun cations. Lewis spent 10 years with the Tulsa World food in the French St. Louis Rams, working five Super Craig Barnes Quarter leading Bowls and most recently serving as di- South Florida Sun-Sentinel MIKE up to an event at rector of news media. Chip Brown a facility that lived “Contributing to a bowl of this magni- The Dallas Morning News GRIFFITH up to its name, tude and tradition was an exciting oppor- Bob Clark the Superdome. tunity,’’ said Lewis, a graduate of South- Eugene Register-Guard Chad Cripe Somewhere between then and now, a ern University. “I’m in the process of ac- Idaho Statesman 30-year-old imposter showed up playing cessing how the Sugar Bowl has oper- Buddy Davis backup cornerback for Texas before the ated and what I can do to make it bet- Ruston Daily Leader 1995 Sugar Bowl against Virginia Tech. ter.’’ Scott Ferrrell It took a while for the Longhorns to Lewis’ e-mail address is Shreveport Times realize it; few are prone to question iden- [email protected]. He wants to Robert Gagliardi tity without cause. hear from you. Wyoming Tribune-Eagle Hurricane Katrina and imposing crime The Sugar Bowl has guaranteed wire- Eric Hansen South Bend Tribune statistics, however, have given us reason less Internet, Ethernet and a pool of Bob Holt to take a closer look at New Orleans as a phones for deadline writers in the press Arkansas Democrat-Gazette sports destination city. Is the Sugar Bowl box. Shuttles will run on media day and Mike Huguenin an imposter among the BCS sites? game day, and the media hotel will be Orlando Sentinel Houston Rockets star Tracy the Marriott Convention Center, where Steve Irvine McGrady, in a copyrighted March player and coach press conferences Birmingham News 1 Houston Chronicle story, said he was will be held. Michael Lewis so concerned about safety in New Or- Charles Bloom, whose titles include Salt Lake City Tribune leans that he would consider skipping SEC BCS Media Coordinator, SEC asso- Andrew Logue Des Moines Register the NBA All-Star game next year if it’s ciate commissioner and incoming Presi- Tom Luicci held there as scheduled. dent of CoSIDA, believes the Sugar Bowl Newark Star-Ledger “I don’t think it’s the right city to have will be ready. Matt Markey this type of event right now,’’ McGrady “The Sugar Bowl made a tremendous Toledo Blade said. “I know the city is in need of trying hire with Duane,’’ Bloom said. “It has Brett McMurphy to get back on its feet, but safety comes made the commitment with personnel as Tampa Tribune first.’’ well as financially to host a first-class Jeff Metcalfe But ready or not, here we come, the media operation.’’ Arizona Republic BCS cycle having dropped the national SEC commissioner Mike Slive, acting Robbi Pickeral Raleigh News & Observer title game on Jan. 7, 2008, in the middle BCS Commissioner, addressed con- Carter Strickland of the Mardis Gras metropolis once cerns about the city of New Orleans at Atlanta Journal-Constitution more. The FWAA will also conduct is the FWAA breakfast in Phoenix. annual meetings there Jan. 5-8 Ask not what New Orleans can do for Ex-officio New Orleans isn't what it used to be, you, Slive said, but what you can do for Charles Bloom having become the rough among BCS New Orleans. SEC/BCS liaison diamonds. The Superdome seems less A better question might be to ask Joe Hornstein super each year. There are more profi- what’s best for college football. Central Florida cient work conditions for press at other (Continued on page 8) Page 3 THE FIFTH DOWN Deadline for submitting information th for membership directory is June 25 FWAA members have until June 25th to be included nis Dodd of CBS SportsLine, are scheduled to attend in the 2007-08 FWAA Membership Directory. Those who CoSIDA’s annual convention in late June and early July fail to meet that deadline with their updated information and participate on a panel concerning access and also may be left out. The FWAA is closing membership for conduct a chapter meeting of the FWAA in San Diego. the directory earlier this year, so production deadlines … Dodd and the Kansas City Star’s Blair Kerkhoff, can be met. Renewal forms were sent out to members in FWAA president in 1997, spoke with Big 12 Conference early April. sports information directors in early May in Kansas City If you have failed to renew your membership, go di- regarding issues of coverage, access and press rela- rectly to www.fwaa.com and click on “Join Us” at the tions with football coaches in the league. top of the home page. After filling out the required infor- mation, you pay with a personal credit card on PayPal. Members on the move Or you can print out the form and send in a check into J.D. Campbell has moved from Bowling Green to be- the FWAA Office in Dallas. The FWAA will not accept come Sports Information Director at Indiana. … Corky phone-in renewals. Simpson, FWAA president in 1996 , has retired from the Tucson Citizen and has plans to relocate in the Missouri- Blaudschun to receive Kansas area. … Chuck Pool has moved from the Lombardi Trophy to become sports information director Bert McGrane Award at Rice. … Michael Harris has moved from Miami, Ohio, The Boston Globe’s Mark Blaudschun will receive the to become sports information director at Cincinnati. … 2007 Bert McGrane Award at the National Football Sadly, Don Clerkin and Pete Nevins have both passed Foundation’s Enshrinement Festival at the College away. … Ohio State sports information director Steve Football Hall of Fame on July 21 in South Bend,. Indi- Snapp will be moving into a different position at the ana. The announcement that Blaudschun had won the school. … Shawn Nestor has moved from Akron to award was made last January. Current FWAA president Maryland and is the football SID for the Terrapins. Mike Griffith will present the award to Blaudschun, who was FWAA president in 1999. Blaudschun’s name will Conference media days be added to a plaque in the rotunda of the College Foot- ►WAC — July 22-24 San Jose , Calif. (Hilton) ball Hall of Fame. The McGrane Award, symbolic of the ►Big East — July 16-17, Newport , RI . (Quality Inn & FWAA’s Hall of Fame, is awarded to an FWAA member who has performed great service to the FWAA and/or Suites Atlantic/Hotel Viking) the writing profession. It is named after McGrane, a Des ►Pac-10 — July 26, Los Angeles (Sheraton Gateway Moines writer who was executive secretary of the FWAA Hotel, LAX) from the early 1940s until 1973.