Florida State end gets lineman trophy

Thursday, December 7th 2000, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

HOUSTON (AP) _ When high school linebacker Jamal Reynolds arrived at Florida State, he was moved to defensive end. Like most decisions made by the Seminoles, it was a great switch.

Reynolds has been chasing quarterbacks ever since, and on Wednesday night he was rewarded by winning the Lombardi Award as the nation's top college lineman.

``Awards are not everything, and I couldn't have gotten this without the team, but it's a great honor,'' Reynolds said.

Reynolds won out over three other finalists, center Ben Hamilton of Minnesota, guard Steve Hutchinson of Michigan and center Dominic Raiola of Nebraska.

At 6-foot-4, 265 pounds, Reynolds would be small for an NFL defensive end and thinks he might be moved to linebacker.

The Seminoles rank sixth nationally in total defense and second in scoring defense. Reynolds, the team's sack leader, has been a big part of their success en route to an 11-1 record and a spot in the Orange Bowl on Jan. 3 against No. 1 Oklahoma.

``I'm not a huge guy and I am mobile enough to move around and play some linebacker,'' Reynolds said.

Reynolds can bench press 525 pounds, runs the 40-yard dash in 4.4 seconds and has a 39-inch vertical leap.

Seminoles assistant coach Jim Gladden said Reynolds will make a good rush end in the pros, and he hopes his future team doesn't try to move him back to linebacker despite his athletic skills.

``Jamal needs to have that 4.4 speed going toward the quarterback and not fiddling around,'' Gladden said. ``When you take him away from that and back him up, that's like taking the dog out of the hunt. That's my way of thinking.''

Reynolds had 12 sacks this season for 70 yards in losses.

Raiola anchored the Cornhuskers offensive line that led the nation in rushing, averaging 355 yards per game and 6 yards per attempt. Raiola has 145 pancake blocks this season and has been in double figures in 10 of 11 games.

Raiola is the 10th Cornhuskers player to be named a finalist. Four Nebraska players have won the award. Raiola also was trying to become the second center to win the award. Nebraska's Dave Rimington won the honor in 1982.

Hamilton has been so consistent in his past three seasons, he has allowed just one sack and has been penalized only one time this season.

He's helped the Golden Gophers average more than 400 yards of total offense this season. Minnesota will play North Carolina State in the Micronpc.com Bowl.

Hutchinson has made 44 career starts for the Wolverines and helped Michigan average over 450 yards in total offense. Hutchinson would have been the first Lombardi winner for the Wolverines. Michigan is preparing to play Auburn in the Citrus Bowl.

Reynolds' brother Diron played at Wake Forest, and now is its linebackers coach. Another brother, Rashad, played at Rice. Both were in the audience for the ceremony.

``I guess I have to thank my two brothers for beating me up all my life,'' Reynolds said. ``And without my team, I wouldn't be here.''