On January 29, 2015, the Fritz Pollard Alliance Foundation will hold its 10thAnnual Johnnie L. Cochran, Jr. Salute to Excellence Awards Reception, at which we will honor high school students, NCAA coaches, NFL coaches and front office executives, and a ground-breaking MLB executive.

The list of honorees follows:

JOHNNIE L. COCHRAN, JR. SALUTE TO EXCELLENCE HONOREES – NFL

Katie Blackburn, Executive Vice President, Cincinnati Bengals Jimmy Raye III, Vice President of Football Operations, Indianapolis Colts Cedric Saunders, Vice President of Football Operations, Detroit Lions Sheldon White, Vice President of Pro Personnel, Detroit Lions Omar Khan, Director of Football and Business Administration, Pittsburgh Steelers Ozzie Newsome, General Manager and Executive Vice President, Baltimore Ravens Martin Mayhew, Executive Vice President of Football Operations and General Manager, Detroit Lions Mike Tomlin, Head Coach, Pittsburgh Steelers Jim Caldwell, Head Coach, Detroit Lions Marvin Lewis, Head Coach, Cincinnati Bengals Ron Rivera, Head Coach, Carolina Panthers  

JOHNNIE L. COCHRAN, JR. SALUTE TO EXCELLENCE HONOREES – NCAA

Dino Babers, Bowling Green State University James Franklin, Penn State University Turner Gill, Liberty University Lee Hull, Morgan State University Ruffin McNeill, East Carolina University Ken Niumatalolo, U.S.  Naval Academy Bob Owens, Chapman College Latrell Scott, Virginia State University David Shaw, Stanford University Willie Slater, Tuskegee University Charlie Strong, University of Texas Kevin Sumlin, Texas A&M University Everett Withers, James Madison University  

JOHNNIE L. COCHRAN, JR. SALUTE TO EXCELLENCE HONOREES – STUDENT HONOREES

Arizona Area High School Honorees Nick Carman, OL, Mountain Pointe High School Cade Cote, OL, Williams Field High School Tyrek Cross, RB, Mountain Pointe High School Ryan DeLung, Mountain Ridge High School Naz Greer, QB, Marcos de Niza High School Igbinoghodua Isibor, DL, St. Mary’s Catholic High School Christian Kirk, RB/WR Saguaro High School Gabriel Losada, QB, St. Mary’s Catholic High School Luke Nguyen, WR, Marcos de Niza High School Ryan Parentau, DB, Boulder Creek High School Bryce Perkins, QB, Chandler High School Joey Smith, RB, Sunnyslope High School Ryan Velez, RB, Brophy College Preparatory JW Windsor, DL, Chandler High School Dedrick Young, RB/LB Centennial High School  

WHARTON SPORTS BUSINESS ACADEMY SCHOLARS

Nadia Jones Jada Allender  

PAUL J. TAGLIABUE AWARD

Wendy Lewis, Senior Vice President of Diversity and Strategic Alliances, Major League Baseball Ray Anderson, Vice President for University Athletics and Athletic Director, Arizona State University Download PDF