CHARLOTTE, N.C. (FWAA) The Charlotte Touchdown Club, in conjunction with the Football Writers Association of America, proudly announces Larry Jacobson as recipient of the 2012 Bronko Nagurski Legends Award, which recognizes outstanding defensive football players from the past 40 years.
The award will be presented formally during the annual Bronko Nagurski Trophy Awards Banquet held Monday, Dec. 3 and presented by ACN.
During Nebraska's 1970 and '71 National Championship seasons, Larry Jacobson averaged almost 20 solo tackles per season and won numerous honors including All-American and the Outland Trophy as the nation's top interior lineman in 1971. The University of Nebraska bestowed its ultimate honor on Jacobson with the retirement of his number 75 jersey in 1994.
"I was deeply honored to learn I had been chosen to receive the 2012 Bronko Nagurski Legends Award. Bronko Nagurski is one of football's true legends and I assume I was selected to receive this honor because I won the Outland Trophy during my senior year as part of the Nebraska 1971 team, which was recently named as the best college football team of all time," said Jacobson. "I am especially thrilled to receive an award based on my accomplishments before the NFL, because I consider college football the greatest game in the world. When I go to Charlotte to accept this honor, it will be on behalf of all of my 1971 teammates and the way we played the game more than 40 years ago."
Jacobson joins a rapidly expanding list of elite Bronko Legends Award winners including: Bubba Smith and Alan Page 2007, Ted Hendricks 2008, Roger Wehrli 2009, Mike McCoy 2010 and Jack Youngblood 2011.
The Bronko Nagurski Legends Award, sponsored by Florida East Coast Railway, was initially presented in 2007 to players from the 1966 season, the first season the FWAA All-American Teams were separated into defense and offense.
"Larry Jacobson is the latest in a growing list of Bronko Nagurski Legends Award recipients who have demonstrated excellence both during their playing careers and beyond," said James R. Hertwig, CEO of Florida East Coast Railway. "Florida East Coast Railway takes great pride in our support of the Charlotte Touchdown Club and its mission to promote Citizenship, Scholarship, Sportsmanship and Leadership."
"Larry Jacobson is an Outland Winner from 1971, symbolic of the best interior lineman in college football. And, if we had had the Nagurski Award back then, he might have won that as well. Nebraska's 1971 football team was part of an iconic era for that school when the Cornhuskers won back-to-back national championships. The 1971 team was one of the greatest teams in college football history that played in one of the greatest games in college football history against Oklahoma, a 35-31 Nebraska win in Norman. He was a stellar defensive tackle," commented Steve Richardson, Executive Director for the Football Writers Association of America.
About the Florida East Coast Railway
FECR is a regional freight railroad that extends along a 351-mile corridor between Jacksonville, Fla., and Miami, Fla., with exclusive rail access to the Port of Palm Beach, Port Everglades (Ft. Lauderdale) and the Port of Miami. For more information, visit fecrwy.com.
The Bronko Nagurski Trophy is a member of the National College Football Awards Association (NCFAA). The NCFAA was founded in 1997 as a coalition of the major collegiate football awards to protect, preserve and enhance the integrity, influence and prestige of the game's predominant awards. The NCFAA encourages professionalism and the highest standards for the administration of its member awards and the selection of their candidates and recipients. For more information, visit the association's official website, ncfaa.org.
The Bronko Nagurski Trophy is presented annually by the Charlotte Touchdown Club and Football Writers Association of America to the nation's most outstanding NCAA defensive football player. The Charlotte Touchdown Club also honors local college and high school football players and over the last decade has raised nearly $1,250,000 for student athletic scholarships throughout the Charlotte Metro Area.
About the Charlotte Touchdown Club
The Charlotte Touchdown Club is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization founded in 1991 with the goal of promoting high school, collegiate, and professional football in the Charlotte, North Carolina region. The Club's activities and services focus community attention on the outstanding Citizenship, Scholarship, Sportsmanship, and Leadership of area athletes and coaches. For more information, call 704-347-2918 or visit touchdownclub.com.
All-Time Bronko Nagurski Legends Award Winners
• 2012: Larry Jacobson, Nebraska
• 2011: Jack Youngblood, Florida
• 2010: Mike McCoy, Notre Dame
• 2009: Roger Wehrli, Missouri
• 2008: Ted Hendricks, Miami
• 2007: Bubba Smith and George Webster, Michigan State; Jim Lynch and Alan Page, Notre Dame