CHICAGO, IL -- NCAA sack leader Von Miller of Texas A&M headlined the list of finalists for the 2009 Ted Hendricks Defensive End of the Year Award, which was announced by the Hendricks Foundation on Wednesday. The award is named for three-time Miami (Fla.) All-American and NFL Hall of Famer Ted Hendricks.

Miller, a junior from DeSoto, Texas, has sat atop the NCAA rankings all season and finished the regular season with 17 quarterback sacks. Miller posted more than one sack in five games this season, including a career-high three sacks in two games. Miller’s 17 sacks are the No. 2 sack total in school history behind two-time All-American Jacob Green’s school standard of 20 sacks in 1979.

Miller’s 2009 sack total was more than the Aggies’ team total of 16 from 2008. With Miller leading the way, the Aggies sacked opposing quarterbacks 35 times, which more than doubled the 2008 total. The Aggies ranked No. 8 nationally with 2.92 sacks per game, and improved over 90 spots in the NCAA rankings from No. 100 in 2008 (1.33/G).

Joining Miller as a finalist for the Hendricks Award was Jeremy Beal of Oklahoma, Brandon Graham of Michigan, Jerry Hughes of TCU, Sergio Kindle of Texas, Derrick Morgan of Georgia Tech and Greg Romeus of Pittsburgh.

The final vote for 2009 Hendricks Award will be concluded on December 8th, and the winner will be announced December 9th. Previous award recipients include Terrell Suggs of Arizona State (2002), David Pollack of Georgia (2003, 04), Elvis Dumervil of Louisville (2005), LaMarr Woodley of Michigan (2006), Chris Long of Virginia (2007) and Brian Orakpo of Texas (2008).