In 2012, Manti Te'o came within a whisker of being the first purely defensive player to win the Heisman Trophy. This year, a Notre Dame lacrosse co-Captain has a chance of being the first close defenseman in men's lacrosse to win his sport's highest award. The lacrosse world will see if Matt Landis can make another statement in support this Sunday against Duke and its own candidate for the Tewaaraton, Myles Jones.
Purely defensive players never seem to get any love when it comes to their sport's highest individual awards. With acknowledgement to Charles Woodson in 1997, Notre Dame's Manti Te'o came the closest to winning the Heisman as a purely defensive player in 2012.