College Football's Newest Award

With the start of the College Football season finally upon us, I've decided to create my own award. I'm not sure if this is on a level akin to giving oneself a nickname on the scale of lameness, but here's hoping it's not. With football, both college and pro, I've always been more intrigued with the defensive side of the equation. I want to know who made the tackle or who came up with the key interception; basically who's reeking havoc on that side of the ball. From this fascination, I will now unveil the First Annual Stonebreaker Award standings after the first week of games.

 The award pays homage to my favorite player on the 1988 Notre Dame National Championship team, linebacker Michael Stonebreaker. I'm not sure why he didn't blow up in the NFL, but in my hazy, little kid memories, he was simply a monster who seemingly made every tackle for that Irish team. In order to qualify, your team has to be in the consensus top 25 (AP and USA Today poll votes combined). I will be tracking tackles, sacks, ints, forced fumbles, tackles for a loss, and pass breakups. Here's a look at the standings after Week 1: (I'm not sure if any outside of Mel Kiper or Todd McShay have even heard of half of these dudes, but I digress).

1. Lance Mitchell, 6'2 205 Jr. S, Oregon St: Despite losing to TCU, making Mitchell's stay at the top a short one, this preseason 3rd team all Pac-10 FS was all over the field for the Beavers, with 18 tackles and an interception.

2. Anthony Leon, 6'4" 227 Sr. S, Arkansas: Arkansas' offense gets all the publicity, but Leon came through with 8 tackles, 2 sacks, and 4 TFL's from the safety spot.

3. Robert Lester, 6'2" 206 Soph. S, Alabama: Lester is listed as the 3rd string FS according to Phil Steele's College Football Preview, and only had 8 tackles last year. Saturday, Lester had a busy day with a sack, an interception, a TFL, and a pass breakup.

4. Wayne Daniels 6'2" 250 Sr DE, TCU: Daniels is the first relatively big name to make an appearance so far, as he's a preseason first team all Mountain West DE. Daniels had 5.5 sacks last season, and he started this season with 2, coupled with a forced fumble and 3 TFL's.

4. Tre Boston, 6'1" 185, Frosh. CB, UNC: With 6 defensive starters out for the Heels somebody had to step up and make plays. Boston did, with an Int, 2 forced fumbles, and a breakup.

6. Ahmad Black, 5'9" 195, Sr. S, Florida: Florida lost 6 starters off of last year's unit, but Black is the team's leading returning tackler, tallying 12 on Saturday with an Int.

6. Olivier Vernon, 6'3" 250, Soph. DE, Miami: Vernon only had 1.5 sacks last season, but came up with 3.5 against FAMU.

8. Tyler Moeller, 6'0" 210, SR. S Ohio St: Another unheralded player who isn't even listed as a starter, Moeller had 7 stops, a sack, a forced fumble, and 2 TFL's.

9. Tyronn Mathieu, 5'9" 170, Frosh. DB, LSU: Mathieu is the 2nd true freshman in my top 10, and was only the 98th rated DB prospect according to Phil Steele. Mathieu had 9 tackles, 1 sack, 1 FF, and 1.5 TFL's.

10. Jamell Fleming 5'11" 178, Jr. CB, Oklahoma: Fleming resides behind Jonathan Nelson on the Sooner depth chart, but cracks the top 10 with his 10 tackles, 1 Int, performance against Utah St.

11. Dwight Robertson, Oregon St. LB, Sr.
11. Janoris Jenkins, Florida, CB, Jr.
13. Shea McClellin, Boise St. DE, Jr.
14. Antoine Carter, Auburn, DE, Sr.
15. Quinton Carter, Oklahoma, FS, Sr.
15. Brian Rolle, Ohio St. LB, Sr.
15. Jakar Hamilton, Georgia, SS, Jr.
15. Brandon Boykin, Georgia, CB, Jr.
15. Brandon Hogan, West Virginia, CB, Sr.
20. Jaye Howard, Florida, DT, Jr.
21. Sam Acho, Texas, DT, Sr.
21. David King, Oklahoma, DE, Soph.
21. Tydreke Powell, UNC, DT, Jr.
24. Eddie Jones, Texas, DE, Sr.
24. Chaz Walker, Utah, LB, Jr.