May 17, 2003
SAN DIEGO - Kirk Morrison, San Diego State's junior linebacker from Oakland's Bishop O'Dowd High School, is one of 41 college football players who have been named to the preseason watch list for the Vince Lombardi Award. The award is presented annually to the nation's top lineman (offense or defense) or linebacker.
Morrison is now an established candidate for two of college football's most prestigious honors. He was previously named to the watch list for the Bronko Nagurski Award, presented to college football's defensive player of the year. There are 36 candidates on the Nagurski preseason watch list.
Morrison is coming off of two standout seasons for the Aztecs. He was named by The Sporting News as a freshman All-American after the 2001 season and in 2002 he became the first Aztec linebacker to be named first-team all-conference since Todd Richards in 1985.
In 2002, Morrison was one of just six sophomore linebackers in the country named first-team all-league. He led SDSU with 97 tackles and led the Mountain West with five fumble recoveries and was seventh in the league with three interceptions.
The Lombardi Award winner will be honored Dec. 10th. The award is sponsored by the Rotary Club of Houston.