Rotary Lombardi Award Denies Ogbah

STILLWATER - The Rotary Lombardi Award announced its 12 semifinalists today and Oklahoma State defensive end Emmanuel Ogbah was not one of them. There were six defensive ends included on the list. Here is how their stats compare in relation to Ogbah's:

Player	School	Games Played	Sacks	Tackles For Loss	QB Hurries	Tackles
Emmanuel Ogbah	Oklahoma State	8	9	13.5	14	41
Robert Nkemdiche	Ole Miss	8	1.5	5.5	6	21
Joey Bosa	Ohio State	7	3.5	11	9	30
Shaq Lawson	Clemson	8	6.5	13.5	2	30
Shilique Calhoun	Michigan State	8	8	10.5	13	30
Myles Garrett	Texas A&M	8	10.5	15.5	7	44
Carl Nassib	Penn State	9	14.5	18.5	0	42

The reigning Big 12 Defensive Lineman of the Year, Ogbah is the most dominant performer on an Oklahoma State team that is 8-0 and 14th in this week's College Football Playoff rankings. He is a projected as top three defensive end prospect for the coming NFL Draft by Mel Kiper and is the midseason favorite for Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year honors, according to ESPN.com.

A native of Houston, Ogbah has played in eight games this season, and three times has been honored as Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week. Twice has he been named national defensive player of the week – once by the Lott IMPACT Trophy after OSU's win at West Virginia and then by the Bednarik Award after the Cowboys' victory at Texas Tech.

His dominance on the field has been featured on ESPN College GameDay:

He has also been recognized on a national level by USA Today for being a leader and a high-character individual off the field.

For him to be passed over as not being one of the top 12 candidates for the Lombardi Award comes as a surprise, given how the award itself describes who is eligible for consideration:

"Eligibility for the Rotary Lombardi Award is limited to down linemen, end-to-end, either on offense or defense, who set up no farther than 10 yards to the left or right of the ball, and linebackers who set up no farther than five yards deep from the line of scrimmage. All candidates also must be eligible to play college sports under the rules and regulations of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). In addition, we consider the values and characteristics that exemplify the Lombardi legacy, leadership, discipline, sportsmanship and excellence of performance. The voting panel is made up of all FBS Head Football Coaches, past Rotary Lombardi Award Finalists and selected college football writers."

Oklahoma State University Athletics

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