Armstrong Lands on Another Preseason Watch List
CORAL GABLES, Fla.- Miami strong safety Ray-Ray Armstrong has been added to the 2011 watch list for the Jim Thorpe Award, which is given each year to college football’s top defensive back.
The award is handed out by the Jim Thorpe Association, which is a member of the National College Football Awards Association (NCFAA).
Armstrong enters his junior season after finishing the 2010 campaign ranked third on the team in tackles (79) and tied for first on the team in interceptions (3). The Sanford, Fla. native also recorded 4.5 tackles for loss – a team-high for defensive backs – and was chosen as a 2010 All-ACC Second Team selection.
This marks the fourth time Armstrong has been included on a preseason watch list this year as he had previously been named to the Bronco Nagurski, Chuck Bednarik and Pony Express watch lists.
If selected as the 2011 Thorpe Award winner, Armstrong would become the second Cane in UM history to be given the honor. In 1987, cornerback Bennie Blades earned the trophy in just its second year of existence. Blades was a member of Miami’s undefeated 1987 national championship team and was named a consensus First Team All-America selection his senior season.
Armstrong joins six other Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) players on the 37-person watch list. The ACC finished second only to the Southeastern Conference (SEC) in number of players included on the list.
The Jim Thorpe Award bears the name of arguably the greatest all around athlete of the 20th century, Jacobus Franciscus “Jim” Thorpe. A multisport athlete, Thorpe won Olympic gold medals in the 1912 pentathlon and decathlon, played both collegiate and professional football and also played professional baseball for a number of organizations including the Milwaukee Brewers, Cincinnati Reds and Boston Braves.
This year marks the 25th anniversary of the Jim Thorpe Award. A banquet will be held on Tuesday, February 7, 2012 in Oklahoma City, Okla. to honor this season’s winner.
Armstrong and the rest of the Hurricanes start action on Sept. 5 at Maryland. For season tickets call 1-800-Go-Canes or purchase online through HurricaneSports.com.
