The preseason accolades keep rolling in for the LSU football team.
Four Tigers – junior offensive tackle Chris Faulk, junior defensive ends Sam Montgomery and Barkevious Mingo and senior offensive tackle Alex Hurst – were named Monday to the watch list for the Lombardi Award, given annually to the top collegiate lineman or linebacker.
Faulk and Hurst will anchor an offensive line littered with veterans. Faulk returns at left tackle after starting in 13 of 14 games last season, finishing with 73.5 knockdowns and earning AP second-team All-Southeastern Conference honors.
Hurst started all 14 games last season at right tackle – one of only five players to start every game. He finished with 71.5 knockdowns and was named First-Team All SEC.
Mingo and Montgomery, already named to the Bednarik Award watch list last week, combined for 40 tackles for loss and 20.5 sacks in their two-year careers. Mingo’s 15 tackles for loss last season ranked third in the SEC, while Montgomery was named a finalist for national defensive end of the year last season.
Also released Monday, junior Kevin Minter was named to the 51-man watch list for The Butkus Award, given to the nation’s top linebacker. Starting eleven games at linebacker last season, Minter had 61 total tackles to rank fifth on the team.
Tigers to open with three home night games
After playing only two games under the lights in Death Valley last season, LSU will open this season with three straight night games, the Southeastern Conference announced Monday.
The Tigers’ season opener against North Texas will kickoff at 6 p.m. on September 1, and will be televised nationally by ESPNU. LSU will then host formidable Pac-10 foe Washington at 6 p.m. on ESPN on September 8, followed the next week with a 7 p.m. kickoff against Idaho, to be shown on TigerVision.
Last season marked the first time in 76 years LSU had no conference games at home, and played only two night games in Tiger Stadium all season, much to the dismay of Tiger fans.
One SEC night game is certain, as CBS has already announced LSU’s November 3 contest with Alabama will kickoff at 7 p.m.
 
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