O' Brien Schofield: What's Not To Love?

Meet O'Brien Schofield. He is a defensive end for the Wisconsin Badgers of the Big Ten.
Ever heard of him? You should have. You probably haven't because of the media's(ESPN) lovefest with all things SEC. As a matter of fact, Schofield not being on the final Lombardi award watch list is a downright travesty. The Lombardi award is given annually to the most outstanding linemen/linebacker in college football on either side of the ball. To the best of my knowledge, Wisconsin head coach Brett Bielema wrote in Schofield as a member of the preseason watch list, yet he was ignored completely for the award. As a matter of fact, of the 12 finalists for this year's award, six-yes, six-are from the SEC. Four others are from the Big 12 and the remaining two are from the Big East and Mountain West Conference.
In this slide show, I will make an attempt to show you that Schofield is one of the best defensive players in the country, and why he should get more love.

George Selvie - South Florida Bulls

South Florida defensive end George Selvie had a breakout season in 2007, amassing 14 sacks and forcing two fumbles. This season? Selvie has three sacks through seven games and only 26 tackles through six games this season. Compare that to Schofield. With 6.5 sacks this season, Schofield is 19th nationally in sacks. He also has recorded 38 tackles through seven games, including two multiple sack games. Clearly better numbers than Selvie, who has no business on the Lombardi list for this season...let us move on.

Jerry Hughes - TCU Horned Frogs

Jerry Hughes, defensive end from Texas Christan, has been a force for TCU this season, and has seven sacks on the season to go with 31 tackles this season. Hughes should legitimately be on the Lombardi list, and is at least Schofield's equal, if not better...

Terrence Cody and Rolando McClain- Alabama Crimson Tide

Terrence Cody, senior defensive lineman for Alabama, is a mammoth of a man at 350 pounds. But the guy only has 15 tackles on the season. Sure he blocked a field goal to seal the game for the Tide today, but what in the Sam Hill?
Another member of the Crimson tide, who certainly deserves his name on the list, is linebacker Rolando McClain. McClain has recorded 50 tackles this season, including two sacks, and has two interceptions as well.

Rennie Curran - Georgia Bulldogs

Rennie Curran has produced tackles at Georgia this season, amassing 73 already this year, but has no forced fumbles, no sacks, no interceptions, and few tackles for loss. Why he is on this list is a mystery to me, considering players like Schofield, and even Michigan State's Junior linebacker, Greg Jones, who has more tackles and five sacks; and yet they were left out, and Jones is not much talked about.

Carlos Dunlap and Brandon Spikes- Florida Gators

Pardon the picture...'Nuff said. Spikes and Dunlap both play at Florida, and the Gators won the National Championship, so they are both highly publicized as being great individual performers. However, Dunlap has less than half as many tackles as Schofield, and Spikes and Dunlap combined have fewer sacks. Go figure.

Gerald McCoy - Oklahoma Sooners

McCoy, defensive tackle for the beleaguered Oklahoma Sooners squad, has only three sacks this season, and 9.5 tackles for loss...once again, 'Nuff said.

Eric Norwood - South Carolina Gamecocks

Norwood has dominated this season from the linbacker position, posting 44 tackles and 6 sicks to go with two interception, one that was returned for a touchdown....definitely a talent that has few equals.

Ndamukong Suh - Nebraska Cornhuskers

Suh has 36 tackles, three sacks, and one interception this season, leading the Nebraska defense. Once again, good numbers, but not as good as Schofield's.

Sean Weatherspoon - Missouri Tigers

Weatherspoon has 1 sack to go along with 49 tackles this season, low numbers for a linebacker...he also has no business on this list.

In Summary

The slant towards the SEC/Big 12 can be clearly seen by the fact Schofield, among other has been left off this list and out of most national talk when great defensive lineman are mentioned. Why, just last week against, arguably the best offensive line in the nation, Schofield recorded three tackles for loss. Which brings up the biggest argument for him to be included in this discussion. Schofield leads the NATION in tackles for loss, with 16.5. The next closest man on the list of the aforementioned, Gerald McCoy, and Hughes of TCU, have only 9.5. Hughes is also the only player on this list to have more sacks than Schofield. Clearly,it is time for the pundits to start giving the award to those who earn it by play on the field, rather than reputation and bias. Give the man some love!