Burrow and Lawrence on award watch lists

Last week, it was announced that both LSU senior quarterback Joe Burrow and defensive lineman Rashard Lawrence were named to award watch lists for their respective positions.

Lawrence is one of 37 players from across the country named to the Ted Hendricks Award Watch List, the Ted Hendricks.

The Ted Hendricks Award has been presented annually since 2002 to the top defensive end in college football.

Lawrence, a senior from Neville High School in Monroe, enters his third season as a starter on the defensive line for the Tigers.

Lawrence is coming off his best season as a Tiger, racking up 54 tackles, 10.5 tackles for loss and 4.0 sacks.

He capped his junior season in 2018 by earning defensive player of the game honors in LSU’s win over UCF in the Fiesta Bowl. Lawrence had five tackles, 4.0 tackles for loss and a pair sacks in the Fiesta Bowl victory.

For his career, Lawrence has recorded 92 tackles, 15.0 tackles for loss and 6.5 sacks.

Lawrence has twice been named to the SEC Academic Honor Roll, as well as being named a two-time permanent team captain for the Tigers. 

He goes into his senior season listed as a preseason All-America by College Football News as well first team All-SEC. 

The Ted Hendricks Award is named in honor of college football’s first three-time first-team All-American. On-field performance, exceptional winning attitude, leadership abilities, contributions to school and community and academic preparedness are some of the criteria used to determine the Award’s recipient each year.

Burrow had his name added to another preseason list for a national award, as the senior quarterback is one of 30 candidates on the watch list for the Manning Award.

The Manning Award was created by the Allstate Sugar Bowl in honor of the college football accomplishments of Archie, Peyton and Eli Manning. It is the only quarterback award that includes the candidates’ bowl performances in its balloting.

Former Tiger standout JaMarcus Russell won the Manning Award in 2006.

Burrow, a senior from The Plains, Ohio, enters his second season as LSU’s starting quarterback after leading the Tigers to a 10-3 mark a year ago. LSU capped the year with a win over previously undefeated UCF in the Fiesta Bowl and finished the season ranked No. 6 in the nation.

Burrow was named the most outstanding offensive player in the Fiesta Bowl after throwing for 394 yards and tying a LSU Bowl Record with four passing touchdowns.

Burrow set or tied five school records last year in what was his first season with the Tigers, and he became the only player in school history to throw for at least 2,800 yards and rush for at least 350 yards in a season. Burrow finished the year with 2,894 passing yards and 399 yards on the ground. He accounted for 23 total touchdowns and tied the school mark for rushing TDs by a quarterback with seven.

Burrow, who was selected to the 2018 Academic Honor Roll, was twice named SEC Offensive Player of the Week last year, the first for leading the Tigers to the comeback win over Auburn and the second for his performance against Ole Miss, when he passed for 292 yards and three TDs and added another 96 rushing yards.

Burrow is also listed as a candidate for the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award, the Davey O’Brien Award and the Maxwell Award.