Aug. 22, 2007
NEW HAVEN, Conn. -- The Walter Camp Football Foundation has named TCU defensive end
Tommy Blake as one of 35 "players to watch" for its prestigious Player of the Year award, the nation's fourth-oldest individual college football accolade.
Blake, a consensus preseason All-American, is one of only nine defensive candidates for the award.
Blake is on watch lists for the Rotary Lombardi Award, Bronko Nagurski Trophy, Chuck Bednarik Award, Ted Hendricks Award and Lott Trophy. Tabbed the State's Defensive Player of the Year by Dave Campbell's Texas Football, Blake has also been named the Mountain West Conference Defensive Player of the Year by the league media and The Sporting News.
A senior from Aransas Pass, Texas, Blake was the 2006 Poinsettia Bowl Defensive Most Valuable Player when he recorded two sacks as part of three tackles for a loss in a 37-7 victory over Northern Illinois. He topped the MWC in tackles for a loss (16.5), 5.5 more than league runner-up and teammate Chase Ortiz (11.0). Blake tied for the MWC lead with seven sacks.
Blake is a two-time, first-team All-MWC selection. He was a unanimous choice in 2006.
The watch list will be narrowed to 10 semifinalists in early November. The 2007 Walter Camp Player of the Year recipient, which is voted on by the 119 NCAA Bowl Subdivision head coaches and sports information directors, will be announced on the ESPN/Home Depot College Football Awards Show in December. The winner will then receive his trophy at the Foundation's annual national awards banquet on Jan. 12, 2008 at the Yale University Commons in New Haven.
Last year's recipient was Ohio State quarterback Troy Smith.
Walter Camp, "The Father of American football," first selected an All-America team in 1889. Camp - a former Yale University athlete and football coach - is also credited with developing play from scrimmage, set plays, the numerical assessment of goals and tries and the restriction of play to 11 men per side. The Walter Camp Football Foundation (www.waltercamp.org) - a New Haven-based all-volunteer group - was founded in 1967 to perpetuate the ideals of Camp and to continue the tradition of selecting annually an All-America team.
