Virgen’s View: Nassib highlights another great Lott Trophy banquet in Newport Beach

Carl Nassib, Penn State’s ultimate underdog story, is very proud of his past. He showed that when he talked about his start with the Nittany Lions as he was introduced to many at the Pacific Club in Newport Beach on Sunday night.

It was the 12th annual Ronnie Lott IMPACT Trophy Banquet and Fox Sports host Joel Klatt talked about Nassib’s former walk-on status at Penn State for an introduction.

Nassib simply smiled.

“That’s Walk On U,” Nassib said of his self-proclaimed university. “I’m part of Walk On University.”

Nassib, the 6-foot-7, 272-pound defensive end, is also now part of the Lott Trophy winners’ fraternity. He was named the newest recipient of the Lott, which boasts past winners such as J.J. Watt of the Houston Texans and Luke Kuechly of the undefeated Carolina Panthers. Watt was also a walk-on at Wisconsin.

The award goes to the top defensive player and also celebrates character, or IMPACT, Integrity, Maturity, Performance, Academics, Community and Tenacity. The trophy is named after Lott, the Hall of Fame defensive back who starred for the San Francisco 49ers. Recently he was named the Defensive Player of the Century for the Pac-12 for his All-American performances at USC.

Lott is revered by many defensive players. Each of the finalists — Duke safety Jeremy Cash, Temple linebacker Tyler Matakevich, Ohio State linebacker Joshua Perry and Nassib — displayed a genuine excitement to meet Lott a few hours before the banquet began.

Nassib appeared happy just to be among the finalists. But alas, he deserved to win the trophy that has now become known as the Lott.

Nassib played in just four snaps in the last two games because of injury, but he still led the nation in sacks (15.5) and forced fumbles (six) and is second in the nation in tackles for loss (19.5). The Lott was Nassib’s third national college football award, as he has also won the Lombardi for the nation’s top lineman (offense or defense) and the Ted Hendricks Award for the nation’s top defensive end.

Nassib, who is seeking a degree in Biology at Penn State, said he enjoyed working with Special Olympics athletes as his community activity.

The Pacific Club IMPACT Foundation will donate $25,000 to the Penn State general scholarship fund in Nassib’s name. That also made Nassib smile.

His efforts, that came from a background as a walk-on, helped make that happen.

During a video interview for the event, Nassib shared a story that went beyond starting as a walk-on.

Nassib revealed that he was nearly cut from the Nittany Lions program toward the end of his sophomore year.

“I just made the cut and I was lucky to be here,” Nassib says. “That moment showed me I needed to be more tenacious and be more active with my work ethic. Since that moment I never turned back.”

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•Sunday also proved to be an important day for Newport Beach and the Lott trophy, as a mural of the award went up at Newport Beach Pier.

The mural, produced by artist Mike Sullivan, is a piece that displays the Pacific Club, the trophy and Lott in his 49ers No. 42 uniform. The mural will be on display for the next 10 years, next to the Stag Bar and near Original Pizza.

Perry from Ohio State, as well as Newport Beach Mayor Ed Selich, attended a special ceremony to reveal the mural.

“I’m very thankful and proud to have the mural here next to the Stag Bar, on one of our properties,” said Mario Marovic, owner of the Stag Bar. “They presented me with a challenge for finding a location for the mural and I really think the spot that we’ve found worked out great. Having the mural in the heart of the tourist district area of Newport Beach is great. I think the mural is going to be like a centerpiece for the area.”

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•Sunday’s banquet proved to be yet another great event, as the night also featured a special Lott honorary award presentation to Kermit Alexander, 74, who was an All-American defensive back at UCLA and also starred for the 49ers, Rams and Eagles.

He has also performed countless mentorships. He and his wife, Tami, are known for adopting five children from Haiti.

John Hamilton, chairman of the IMPACT Foundation, became emotional when he presented the award to Alexander.

The Lott banquet continues to be among the best — in my opinion it is the best — sporting events in Newport Beach. The Lott award has prestige and the event is first class for the finalists.

“This is just one of our best ever,” Hamilton said. “This is our 12th year and this group of four might be the best group of four we’ve ever had. They are just fantastic. Having the mural at the pier, it’s going to be there for 10 years and I’m just really proud of that. I’m just really proud of this whole foundation and all the things we do for kids. It’s so important to me to celebrate character.”