Oct. 19, 2011
Texas Longhorn senior LB Emmanuel Acho has been selected as a finalist for the 2011 Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award, which honors football student-athletes who excel both on and off the field.
Acho is among 10 finalists chosen by a media committee from the list of 30 candidates announced in August. Nationwide fan voting begins immediately to determine the winner. Fans are encouraged to vote on either the Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award website or the Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award Facebook fan page through December 5. Fan votes will be combined with media and Division I FBS head coaches’ votes to determine the winner.
To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I FBS senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence – community, classroom, character and competition.
Acho is a two-time first-team Academic All-Big 12 selection. He is enrolled in the sport management program and is a six-time member of UT’s Athletics Director’s Honor Roll. Acho is an active participant in UT’s community service program and is part of a group of Longhorns that regularly visits patients at the Dell Children's Medical Center. Each summer, Acho joins his father and brother Sam, former Longhorn defensive end and current rookie for the Arizona Cardinals, on a medical mission trip to Nigeria.
Acho is also a regular speaker at local chapters of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and also speaks weekly to at-risk youth at area high schools as a member of the Longhorn Leaders class.
A fourth-year linebacker who has seen action in 41 games, including 19 starts, Acho was named to the 2011 Lott IMPACT Trophy and Butkus Award watch lists. He has posted 205 tackles (118 solo), 30 TFL, seven sacks, six forced fumbles, three fumble recoveries, two INTs, nine PBU and 18 pressures in his career. Through six games in 2011, Acho leads the team in total tackles (58), TFL (8), QBP (10) and is tied for the lead in sacks (2). In 2010, Acho was a second-team All-Big 12 selection, started 11 games at linebacker and registered 87 tackles (49 solo), three sacks, 12 TFL, two forced fumbles, one fumble recovery, one INT, six PBU and five pressures.
An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School, the Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student-athlete and encourages students to use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact as leaders in their communities.
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