Laurinaitis, a 6-3, 240-pound senior from Hamel, Mn., has already won the Nagurski Award as a sophomore and the Butkus Award as a junior. Jenkins, a 6-1, 208-pound senior from Piscataway, N.J., was an All-American selection last year.

There are seven repeat nominees for the award, including Laurinaitis, a finalist last year. The other players nominated for a second straight year are Jonathan Casillas of Wisconsin, Maurice Crum, Jr. of Notre Dame, Brian Cushing of USC, Zack Follett of Cal, Nic Harris of Oklahoma and Darryl Richard of Georgia Tech.

Thirty-five different schools are represented on the Watch List.

Named after Hall of Famer Ronnie Lott, The Lott Trophy is awarded to college football’s Defensive IMPACT Player of the Year. Now in its fourth year, The Lott Trophy is the first college football award to equally recognize athletic performance and the personal character attributes of the player.

Sponsored by The Pacific Club IMPACT Foundation, the award is given to a player who exhibits the same characteristics Lott embodied during his distinguished career: Integrity, Maturity, Performance, Academics, Community and Tenacity.

David Pollack of Georgia won the initial Lott Trophy in 2004. DeMeco Ryans of Alabama won the award in 2005 Daymeion Hughes of Cal was the recipient in 2006 and Glenn Dorsey of LSU in 2007. Georgia, Alabama, Cal and LSU each received $25,000 for their general scholarship funds. In four years, the Pacific Club IMPACT Foundation has donated more than $450,000 to various charities, including the four universities.

Voters for the award include selected members of the national media, previous finalists, the Board of Directors of the Pacific Club IMPACT Foundation, The IMPACT Foundation Board of Advisers comprised of many retired NFL players and Master Coaches, a distinguished group of former head college coaches.

The winner will be announced at a gala black-tie banquet at The Pacific Club in Newport Beach, Ca. on December 14th, 2008.

For further information on the Lott Trophy, please visit our website at lotttrophy.com.

The 2008 Lott Trophy Watch List
Asher Allen, CB, Georgia, Jr., 5-10, 198 (Tucker, Ga)
Ted Bentler, DT, Army, Sr., 6-3, 251 (Bettendorf. Ia)
Eric Berry, DB, Tennessee, So., 5-11, 195 (Fairburn, Ga)
Russell Brorsen, DE, Kansas, Sr., 6-4, 240 (Stillwater, Ok)
Reggie Carter, LB, UCLA, Jr., 6-1, 220 (Los Angeles)
Jonathan Casillas, LB, Wisconsin, Sr., 6-2, 214 (New Brunswick, NJ)
Maurice Crum, Jr., LB, Notre Dame, Sr., 6-0, 225 (Riverview, Fl)
Aaron Curry, LB, Wake Forest, Sr., 6-3, 240 (Fayetville, NC)
Brian Cushing, LB, USC, Sr., 6-4, 245 (Park Ridge, NJ)
Zack Follett, LB, Cal, Sr., 6-2, 237 (Clovis, Ca)
Courtney Greene, S, Rutgers, Sr., 6-2, 210 (New Rochelle, NY)
Nic Harris, DB, Oklahoma, Sr., 6-3, 226 (Alexandria, La)
Mark Herzlich, LB, Boston College, Jr., 6-4, 238 (Wayne, Pa)
Brandon Hughes, CB, Oregon State, Sr., 5-11, 182 (Bloomington, In)
George Hypolite, DE, Colorado, Sr., 6-1, 285 (Los Angeles)
Jeremy Jarmon, DE, Kentucky, Jr., 6-3, 268 (Collierville, Tn)
Malcolm Jenkins, CB, Ohio State, Sr., 6-1, 208 (Piscataway, NJ)
Jan Jorgensen, DE, BYU, Jr., 6-3, 260, (Helper, Ut)
Mitch King, DT, Iowa, Sr., 6-3, 264 (Burlington, Ia)
John Larson, DL, Kansas, Sr., 6-3, 250 (Kansas City)
James Laurinaitis, LB, Ohio State, Sr., 6-3, 244 (Hamel, Mn)
Taylor Mays, S, USC, Jr., 6-4, 225 (Seattle)
Tyrone McKenzie, LB, South Florida, Sr., 6-2, 235 (Riverview, Fl)
Bo McNally, S, Stanford, Sr., 6-0, 208 (Salt Lake City)
Greg Middleton, DE, Indiana, Jr., 6-3, 275 (Indianapolis)
Scott Mikillop, LB, Pitt, Sr., 6-2, 240 (Export, Pa)
Brit Miller, LB, Illinois, Sr., 6-1, 251 (Decatur, Il)
William Moore, S, Missouri, Sr., 6-1, 215 (Hayti, Mo)
Troy Nolan, S, Arizona State, Sr., 6-2, 204 (Los Angeles)
Eric Norwood, DE, South Carolina, Jr., 6-0, 258 (Acworth, Ga)
Brian Orakpo, DE, Texas, Sr., 6-4, 260 (Houston)
Jeff Owens, DT, Georgia, Sr., 6-3, 298 (Sunrise, Fl)
Kirston Pittman, DE, LSU, Sr., 6-4, 252 (Garyville, La)
Zach Potter, DE, Nebraska, Sr., 6-7, 285 (Omaha)
Nick Reed, DE, Oregon, Sr., 6-2, 255 (Trabuco Canyon, Ca)
Darryl Richard, DT, Georgia Tech, Sr., 6-4, 285 (Destrehan, La)
Myron Rolle, DB, Florida State, Jr., 6-2, 215 (Galloway, NJ)
George Selvie, DE, South Florida, Jr., 6-4, 242 (Pensacola, Fl)
Brandon Spikes, LB, Florida, Jr., 6-3, 245 (Shelby, NC)
Alterraun Verner, DB, UCLA, Jr., 5-11, 178 (Carson, Ca)
Sean Weatherspoon, LB, Missouri, Jr., 6-1, 230 (Jasper, Tx)
Reed Williams, LB, West Virginia, Sr., 6-2, 225 (Moorefield, WVa)