Newport Beach, CA (Feb. 21) – Northwestern linebacker Paddy Fisher has been named the winner of the 17th Annual Lott IMPACT Trophy.
The announcement came Sunday night at the Pacific Club in Newport Beach, CA. at the Lott IMPACT Trophy Annual Award Show.
The award goes to the defensive player who has the biggest IMPACT on his team. IMPACT stands for Integrity, Maturity, Performance, Academics, Community and Tenacity.
Fisher is an All-American linebacker that was also named Big Ten Linebacker of the Year. During the 2020 season, Fisher recorded 86 tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss, one interception, a forced fumble, and a fumble recovery. Fisher is a three-time team captain, Academic All-Big Ten and Big Ten Distinguished Scholar. In his career, Fisher received All-Big Ten honors three-times on the field, to go with 404 career tackles, the most among active players. Fisher is also involved in numerous local charities.
The Pacific Club IMPACT Foundation will present a $25,000 check to the general scholarship fund at Northwestern in recognition of Fisher’s achievement. Runner-ups were Talanoa Hufanga of USC, Joseph Ossai of Texas, Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah of Notre Dame, Tarron Jackson of Coastal Carolina, and Patrick Surtain II of Alabama.
Previous Winners of the Lott IMPACT Trophy
2004 – David Pollack, Georgia
2005 – DeMeco Ryans, Alabama
2006 – Dante Hughes, Cal
2007 – Glenn Dorsey, LSU
2008 – James Laurinaitis, Ohio State
2009 – Jerry Hughes, TCU
2010 – J.J. Watt, Wisconsin
2011 – Luke Kuechly, Boston College
2012 – Manti Te’o, Notre Dame
2013 – Anthony Barr, UCLA
2014 – Eric Kendricks, UCLA
2015 – Carl Nassib, Penn State
2016 – Jabrill Peppers, Michigan
2017 – Josey Jewell, Iowa
2018 – Josh Allen, Kentucky
2019 – Derrick Brown, Auburn
2020 – Paddy Fisher, Northwestern