Photo by: Maria Lysaker | Rice Athletics
Pearcy Named to Lombardi Award Watch List
8/16/2023 4:27:00 PM | Football
Winner announced in Houston on December 6
Rice's Josh Pearcy is among 80 college football standouts who have been named to the 2023 Lombardi Award Watch List which was announced on Tuesday.
The Lombardi Award was founded in 1970 and the annual winner is selected from the nation's top linemen on either offense or defense or linebackers on defense. The honor was created only weeks after the death of legendary coach Vince Lombardi from colon cancer in order to raise funding to support cancer research.
Pearcy is coming off a breakout season in 2022 in which he led the Owls with 10 tackles for loss and 6.5 sacks while starting all 13 games. Two of his sacks on consecutive plays in the final minute vs. UAB to preserve the Owls' 28-24 win. He dropped Dylan Hopkins and forced a fumble for a loss of seven on second down with less than a minute to go and then dropped Hopkins again for a loss of four as time ran out. The captain of Rice's special teams, Pearcy also led the unit with six tackles on kick coverage.
The native of Moorestown, New Jersey, has been named to Phil Steele's All-AAC preseason first team while earning second-team honors from Athlon and College Football Network.
The selection process to determine the winner of the 2023 Lombardi Award will begin on November 1 when the list of semifinalists is announced. The four finalists will be announced on November 15 and the winner will be announced at the Lombardi Award ceremony in Houston on December 6.
For more information on the Lombardi Award, please visit www.lombardiaward.org.
Pearcy and Rice will open the 2023 season on September 2 in Austin when the Owls face Texas at 2:30 p.m. in a game broadcast nationally by FOX. They open the 2023 home season the following week when they host Houston in the 42nd Bayou Bucket at Rice Stadium at 6 p.m. with coverage on the NFL Network.
The Lombardi Award was founded in 1970 and the annual winner is selected from the nation's top linemen on either offense or defense or linebackers on defense. The honor was created only weeks after the death of legendary coach Vince Lombardi from colon cancer in order to raise funding to support cancer research.
Pearcy is coming off a breakout season in 2022 in which he led the Owls with 10 tackles for loss and 6.5 sacks while starting all 13 games. Two of his sacks on consecutive plays in the final minute vs. UAB to preserve the Owls' 28-24 win. He dropped Dylan Hopkins and forced a fumble for a loss of seven on second down with less than a minute to go and then dropped Hopkins again for a loss of four as time ran out. The captain of Rice's special teams, Pearcy also led the unit with six tackles on kick coverage.
The native of Moorestown, New Jersey, has been named to Phil Steele's All-AAC preseason first team while earning second-team honors from Athlon and College Football Network.
The selection process to determine the winner of the 2023 Lombardi Award will begin on November 1 when the list of semifinalists is announced. The four finalists will be announced on November 15 and the winner will be announced at the Lombardi Award ceremony in Houston on December 6.
For more information on the Lombardi Award, please visit www.lombardiaward.org.
Pearcy and Rice will open the 2023 season on September 2 in Austin when the Owls face Texas at 2:30 p.m. in a game broadcast nationally by FOX. They open the 2023 home season the following week when they host Houston in the 42nd Bayou Bucket at Rice Stadium at 6 p.m. with coverage on the NFL Network.
Players Mentioned
OLB
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