The Sports Inquirer

Release from Georgia State Athletics:

Georgia State linebacker Joseph Peterson was named to the 2015 Rotary Lombardi Award Watch List, announced Tuesday.

The senior from Dothan, Ala., is the Panthers’ top returnee on defense after earning All-Sun Belt Conference recognition the last two years, including second-team honors a year ago.

Peterson is already Georgia State’s career tackling leader with 265. He also holds the GSU records for tackles in a game (16 vs. Troy, 2013) and season (103 in 2013).

In 2014, he led the team in tackles for the third straight year with 97, despite missing two games. He ranked third in the Sun Belt and No. 25 in NCAA with 9.7 tackles per game.

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.

Peterson is one of nine returning starters on defense for the Panthers, who open the season Sept. 4 by hosting Charlotte at the Georgia Dome.