Minnesota landed two names on the 2026 Midseason Watchlist for the Lombardi Award, with offensive lineman Greg Johnson and defensive lineman Anthony Smith both earning spots on the 60-player list announced by the Rotary Club of Houston and the Lombardi Award Committee.
The watchlist is built from what players have done so far this season, along with the impact they’re expected to keep making down the stretch. In other words, it’s a snapshot of who has already stood out and who still has room to shape the rest of the race.
Johnson has been a model of flexibility up front. He opened the season at guard for the first three games, then moved to center after starting center Ashton Beers was lost for the year with a season-ending injury.
That kind of plug-and-play value is rare, and Johnson has backed it up with production. According to Pro Football Focus, he has given up just one pressure in 202 chances.
His 80.3 PFF grade ranks 16th nationally and sixth in the Big Ten, while his 81.1 run-blocking grade sits 13th in the country and second in the conference.
His résumé is built on versatility. Johnson has lined up at all five offensive line spots in his career and has started games at left tackle, left guard, center and right tackle.
Smith brings a different kind of force to the list. He has been one of the more disruptive defenders in college football, posting 13 tackles this season with 1.5 sacks, three tackles for loss and two pass breakups.
The attention he draws is part of the job, too, as he is often double-teamed. Over his career, Smith has totaled 94 tackles, 34 tackles for loss and 21 sacks.
The Lombardi Award goes annually to the nation’s best college offensive or defensive lineman. This year’s winner will be honored at a ceremony in Houston, Texas, on December 9. The award is also tied to the kind of players who reflect leadership, courage, performance and discipline on and off the field, along with strength, agility and football acumen at their positions.
In Other News...
P.J. Fleck And Niko Medved Share A Bond Minnesota Needs
P.J. Fleck and Niko Medved have quietly built one of the more useful relationships inside Minnesota athletics, a cross-sport friendship that gives each coach a rare kind of support. Fleck and the Gophers football staff have been around Medved's basketball program enough to see how he operates, and Medved has returned the favor by showing up around football too. For two head coaches working in the same market, that kind of connection matters.
The value goes beyond courtesy visits. Both men understand the weight of leading at Minnesota, where the expectations are high and the margins can be tight, and each seems to appreciate having someone in the building who understands the job from the same angle. In a Big Ten landscape where resources and roster-building have become bigger pressures by the year, their willingness to lean on one another and keep both programs connected has become a small but meaningful part of the Gophers' push to stay competitive. [Read more 🡒]