Tamme spoke at the FCA breakfast at the Music City Bowl last week along with Bowden, the head coach at Florida State.
"When coach Bowden said my name as the winner, it was pretty neat to win an award named in his honor," Tamme said. "I grew up watching Florida State football. They were the first team I saw that featured speed and defense. I watched so many great Florida State players play and coach Bowden is one of the greatest winners in the history of sports."
"Neat keepsake"
Tamme got to have his picture made not only with Bowden, but also with coaches Les Miles of LSU and Jim Tressell of Ohio State.
"That's going to be a neat keepsake," he said.
What he didn't have to do was give a speech.
"I was prepared, but the award was at the end of the program and the teams needed to stay on schedule," he said.
The additional finalists were Dionte Johnson of Ohio State, who is playing in the title game, and Jeremy Leman of Illinois.
"I sat with Dionte Johnson at breakfast and he was really a nice guy," Tamme said. "I met the other guy (Leman) at the Draddy Award, but he couldn't be there (in New Orleans) because he was still in California after playing in the Rose Bowl."
Tamme left New Orleans for Pensacola, Fla., to begin workouts for the Senior Bowl and the NFL Combine. He has signed with Profile Sports Management -- an Atlanta-based agency headed by Bill Johnson and Pat Dye Jr.
"The next few weeks are going to be very important for me," Tamme said. "I need to train as hard as I can because there will be a lot of NFL scouts at the Senior Bowl. Then in less than a month I go to the combine (in Indianapolis).
"I am ready to rock 'n roll, but I also know it will be a lot of work. However, when you have an opportunity like this ahead of you, the work is all worth it."
Tamme already had been named the Southeastern Conference Scholar-Athlete of the Year, a finalist for the Draddy Award, an academic All-American and a first-team all-SEC selection. He is also the all-time leader among tight ends at UK in receptions and yardage.
"I've been blessed and winning this award was just one more example of that," Tamme said.
