USC’s Rey Maualuga, named on the 2008 Lombardi watch list, is a pre-season favorite to win the award given to the nation’s top lineman, offense or defense. If middle linebacker Maualuga manages to win the coveted award, he would be only the second Trojan in the 38-year history of the Lombardi. The only other USC player to win was offensive guard Brad Budde in 1979, a unanimous All American, and one of twelve USC players from the ’79 team to be selected in the first round of the NFL draft.