OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Alabama’s Landon Collins, Oregon’s Ifo Ekpre-Olomu and Florida State’s Lamarcus Joyner are among the 15 semifinalists for this year’s Jim Thorpe Award, given to the country’s top defensive back.
Three finalists will be named Nov. 25, with the winner announced Dec. 12 on ESPN. The award is presented by the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame and Jim Thorpe Association in Oklahoma City.
Other semifinalists for the honor include: Ohio State’s C.J. Barnett, Washington State’s Deone Bucannon, Oklahoma’s Aaron Colvin, Michigan State’s Darqueze Dennard, Virginia Tech’s Kyle Fuller, Florida’s Vernon Hargreaves, Oregon State’s Steven Nelson, Ole Miss’ Cody Prewitt, Louisville’s Calvin Pryor, TCU’s Jason Verrett, Northern Illinois’ Jimmie Ward and Kansas State’s Ty Zimmerman.
Last year’s award went to Johnthan Banks of Mississippi State.