April 30, 2010

PITTSBURGH--Pitt senior offensive tackle Jason Pinkston and senior defensive end Greg Romeus have been named to the initial watch list for the 2010 Rotary Lombardi Award, the Rotary Club of Houston (Texas) announced.

Eligibility for the Rotary Lombardi Award is limited to down linemen, end-to-end, either on offense or defense, who set up no farther than 10 yards to the left or right of the ball, or linebackers who set up no farther than five yards deep from the line of scrimmage.

Pinkston (Pittsburgh, Pa./Baldwin) enters his third season as a starting offensive tackle at Pitt. As a junior, he was selected first team All-Big East and garnered second-team All-America accolades. The Panthers have produced a 1,000-yard rusher each year he has been a starter.

Romeus (Coral Springs, Fla./Coral Glades) was the Big East Defensive Player of the Year and a unanimous first-team All-Big East selection after collecting 43 tackles, 11.5 tackles for loss and a team-high eight sacks last year. He additionally had three forced fumbles, an interception, a fumble recovery and blocked PAT.

Romeus was named a finalist for the 2009 Ted Hendricks Defensive End of the Year Award and additionally was selected to three different All-America teams, including CollegeFootballNews.com (second team), Sporting News (third team) and Rivals (third team).

Over the past two seasons, Pitt has produced 19 wins, the second highest total in the Big East Conference and among the top 25 nationally. The Panthers are 20-7 (.741) over their last 27 games, dating back to the landmark 13-9 upset at West Virginia on Dec. 1, 2007 -- the first victory over a team ranked No. 1 in school history.

The 2010 Panthers are already earning preseason Top 25 recognition from such entities as Rivals.com (No. 13), ESPN.com (No. 14), SportsIllustrated.com (No. 16), ESPN "College Football Live" (No. 16) and CBSSports.com (No. 24).

Pitt will play one of the most-anticipated season openers in the country in 2010 when it travels to Utah for a Sept. 2 game. The Panthers and Utes will kick off at 8:30 p.m. (ET) for a national telecast on Versus.

For season-ticket information, log on to PittsburghPanthers.com or call (800) 643-PITT.

--30--