Nov. 11, 2009
Texas junior DE Sam Acho has been selected as a semifinalist for the 2009 Lott Trophy, honoring the nation’s top defensive IMPACT player, The Pacific Club IMPACT Foundation has announced.
Acho has seen action in 33 career games (nine starts) and tallied 59 tackles, 10.5 sacks, 14 TFL, 23 pressures, seven PBD, two forced fumbles and four fumble recoveries. In 2009, he has started all nine games and notched 33 tackles, six sacks, eight TFL, 12 pressures, three PBD, a forced fumble and four fumble recoveries. The four fumble recoveries are tied for first nationally and tied for third on UT’s single-season list.
An honors business major in the prestigious McCombs School of Business, Acho is a 2009 CoSIDA Academic All-District honoree, a two-year member of UT’s Student-Athlete Advisory Council, and he served as UT’s representative at the 2009 NCAA Leadership Conference in May. He earned CoSIDA Academic All-District and first-team Academic All Big 12 honors in 2008 and is a four-time UT's Athletics Director’s Honor Roll. Including this summer, he and his family have made several medical mission trips to his father’s native country of Nigeria. He is also highly involved in the team’s community service program and is a regular visitor to the Dell Children’s Medical Center.
Texas has had two finalists for the Lott Trophy in its five-year history, including LB Derrick Johnson in 2004 and DE Brian Orakpo in 2008.
Named after Hall of Famer Ronnie Lott, the Lott Trophy is awarded to college football’s Defensive IMPACT Player of the Year, equally recognizing athletic performance and the personal character attributes of the player.
Sponsored by The Pacific Club IMPACT Foundation in Newport Beach, the award is given to the player who exhibits the same characteristics Lott embodied during his distinguished career: Integrity, Maturity, Performance, Academics, Community and Tenacity.
Voters for the award include selected members of the national media, previous finalists, the Board of Directors of the IMPACT Foundation, the IMPACT Foundation Board of Advisors comprised of retired NFL players and the Legends Coaches, a distinguished group of former college head coaches.
The sixth annual Lott Trophy dinner will be held December 13th at The Pacific Club in Newport Beach, Calif.
