Eric Kendricks Wins The Lott IMPACT Trophy

Eric Kendricks has had an amazing career at UCLA and he is receiving the accolades to prove it. Five days after he won the Butkus Award for best linebacker in the nation, Kendricks today won the Lott IMPACT Trophy, which is given to “college football’s best in character and performance”.

Per the Lott IMPACT Trophy website:

"The IMPACT award is awarded annually to individuals who demonstrate excellence in the field of athletics and recognizes college football’s Defensive Player of the Year who best exemplifies the IMPACT acronym: Integrity, Maturity, Performance, Academics, Community and Tenacity."

More from UCLA Bruins

• UCLA Football: Where are they ranked heading into week 4
• UCLA vs. Utah: Location, time, prediction, and more
• UCLA Football: An analysis and more of the defense
• UCLA vs. North Carolina Central: Location, time, prediction, and more
• UCLA Football: Three first half takeaways against SDSU

Needless to say, Kendricks is one of the best defensive players this season. He not only led the Bruins in total tackles (139), but also led the nation in solo tackles (96). Kendricks also made history this season as he became UCLA’s all-time leading tackler (471). To top it off, he was named to the Pac-12 All-Academic 2nd team. The redshirt senior is majoring in Political Science and has maintained a 3.22 grade point average. Eric Kendricks can do it all.

This is the second year in a row that a UCLA player has won the Lott IMPACT Trophy as Minnesota Vikings rookie Anthony Barr received the honor last year. If everything stays constant, there is a chance another Bruin could claim it for himself next season. That is right, I am thinking of Myles Jack. Can you say “Linebacker U”?

Congratulations, Mr. Kendricks! We will truly miss you.

Go Bruins!