UCLA defensive tackle Brian Price is on the preliminary watch list for the 2009 Lombardi Award. Here’s the release:

Houston, Texas – March 2 , 2009 – Three semi-finalists from last year’s Rotary Lombardi Award voting are among 48 players named to the 2009 preliminary watch list released today. Texas defensive end Brian Orakpo won the 39th Rotary Lombardi Award on December 10, 2008.

UCLA junior defensive tackle Brian Price, who led the Bruins with 14.0 tackles for loss, is on the list.

The three semi-finalists returning to this year’s list are South Florida defensive lineman George Selvie, Florida linebacker Brandon Spikes and Missouri linebacker Sean Weatherspoon. Selvie was also a semi-finalist in 2007; both Selvie and Spikes are All-Americans. This year’s list includes a total of four All-Americans.

Eligibility for the Rotary Lombardi Award is limited to down linemen and those defensive players who line up within five yards of the football. The candidates earned a place on the preliminary watch list by earning All-American honors or by being named to their respective all-conference first team as selected by the conference’s head coaches. The Rotary Lombardi Award Watch List will be updated prior to the start of the 2009 season in order to identify those players who have been selected as pre-season honors candidates.

Troy University has the most players on the preliminary watch list with three players. Alabama, Central Michigan, Louisiana Lafayette, Oklahoma, Penn State, South Carolina and Texas all have two players on the list. In conference lineups, the Big 12 and the SEC tied for the most players with eight, followed by the Sun Belt with six and the Western Athletic with five. The Big Ten and the Pac-10 have four each. The Big East, Mountain West and the Mid-American conferences have three players each. Rounding out the list are the ACC and Conference USA with two each.

While the Watch List highlights those players who have alread y received national recognition, any Division 1 player who meets the position requirements is eligible for consideration from the Rotary Lombardi Selection Committee. This committee is comprised of more than 500 members, including all past winners and finalists, all Division 1-A head coaches and a panel of sportswriters and broadcasters. The Rotary Lombardi Watch List, intended as a reference tool for the Selection Committee, will be periodically updated and revised through the conclusion of the voting to determine the 12 Semifinalists for 2009.

The complete Rotary Lombardi Award Preliminary Watch List for 2009 follows:

Kevin Basped, DL, Nevada
Zane Beadles, OL, Utah
Nick Bellore, LB, Central Michigan
Navorro Bowman, LB, Penn State
Brad Bustle, OL, University of Louisiana at Lafayette
Nate Byham, TE, Pittsburgh
Alex Carrington, DE, Arizona State
Brandon Carter, OL, Texas Tech
Terrence Cody, DL, Alabama
Antonio Coleman, DE, Auburn
Jared Cook, TE, South Carolina
Rennie Curran, LB, Georgia
John Estes, OL, Hawaii
Chris Fisher, C, University of Louisiana at Lafayette
Rob Gronkowski, TE, Arizona
Mark Herzlich, LB, Boston College
Rodney Hudson, OG, Florida State
Jerry Hughes, DE, TCU
Duke Ihenacho, LB, San Jose State
Cardia Jackson, LB, University of Louisiana at Monroe
Micah Johnson, LB, Kentucky
Arthur Jones, DT, Syracuse
Greg Jones, LB, Michigan State
Jan Jorgensen, DL, BYU
Sergio Kindle, LB, Texas
Brandon Lang, DE, Troy
Boris Lee, LB, Troy
Rolando McClain, LB, Alabama
Albert McClellan, DE, Marshall
Gerald McCoy, DL, Oklahoma
Eric Norwood, LB, South Carolina
Kristofer O’Dowd, C, USC
Jared Odrick, DT, Penn State
Russell Okung, OL, Oklahoma State
Joe Pawelek, LB, Baylor
Brian Price, DT, UCLA
Austin Pritchard, LB, Western Michigan
Adam Ulatoski, OT, Texas
George Selvie, DE, South Florida
Cameron Sheffield, DE, Troy
D’Anthony Smith, DL, Louisiana Tech
Brandon Spikes, LB, Florida
Sean Weatherspoon, LB, Missouri
Trent Williams, OL, Oklahoma
C.J. Wilson, DE, East Carolina
Ryan Winterswyck, DL, Boise State
Corey Wootton, DE, Northwestern
Frank Zombo, DE, Central Michigan