The National Football Foundation announced today that Clemson offensive lineman Sean Pollard has been named a semifinalist for the 2019 William V. Campbell Trophy. A full press release with additional information from the NFF is included below.
IRVING, Texas (Sept. 25, 2019) – Once again recognizing another impressive group of scholar-athletes, The National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame (NFF) proudly announced today the 185 semifinalists for the 2019 William V. Campbell Trophy® Presented by Mazda. Celebrating its 30th year in 2019, the award recognizes an individual as the absolute best football scholar-athlete in the nation for his combined academic success, football performance and exemplary leadership.
The NFF will announce 12-14 finalists on Oct. 30, and each of them will receive an $18,000 postgraduate scholarship as a member of the 2019 NFF National Scholar-Athlete Class presented by Fidelity Investments. The finalists will travel to New York City for the 62nd NFF Annual Awards Dinner on Dec. 10, where their accomplishments will be highlighted in front of one of the most powerful audiences in all of sports. Live during the event, one member of the class will be declared as the winner of the 30th Campbell Trophy® Presented by Mazda and have his postgraduate scholarship increased to $25,000.
Nominated by their schools, which are limited to one nominee each, candidates for the awards must be a senior or graduate student in their final year of playing eligibility, have a GPA of at least 3.2 on a 4.0 scale, have outstanding football ability as a first team player or significant contributor and have demonstrated strong leadership and citizenship. The class is selected each year by the NFF Awards Committee, which is comprised of a nationally recognized group of media, College Football Hall of Famers and athletics administrators.
“These 185 impressive candidates truly represent the scholar-athlete ideal,” said NFF Chairman Archie Manning, whose sons Peyton (Campbell Trophy® winner) and Eli were named NFF National Scholar-Athletes in 1997 and 2003, respectively. “For more than 60 years, the NFF National Scholar-Athlete program has showcased more than 800 college football players who have been successful on the football field, in the classroom and in the community. And we are excited to celebrate the 30th year of the William V. Campbell Trophy® Presented by Mazda, which honors the best of the best. This year’s semifinalists further illustrate the power of our great sport in developing the next generation of influential leaders.”
Named in honor of the late Bill Campbell, former chairman of Intuit, former player and head coach at Columbia University and the 2004 recipient of the NFF’s Gold Medal, the Campbell Trophy® Presented by Mazda is a 25-pound bronze trophy and increases the amount of the recipient’s grant by $7,000 for a total postgraduate scholarship of $25,000.This year’s postgraduate scholarships will push the program’s all-time distribution to more than $11.7 million.
Last week, Mazda announced a three-year partnership to sponsor the Campbell Trophy®, kicking off the automaker’s Power of Potential Platform.
“The NFF would like to personally congratulate each of the nominees as well as their schools and coaches on their tremendous accomplishments,” said NFF President & CEO Steve Hatchell. “We are extremely proud to highlight each semifinalist’s achievements, showcasing their ability to balance academics and athletics at the highest level. The NFF Awards Committee will have an incredibly difficult task in selecting the finalists from this outstanding group of candidates.”
2019 WILLIAM V. CAMPBELL TROPHY® PRESENTED BY MAZDA SEMIFINALISTS NOTES
Launched in 1959, the NFF National Scholar-Athlete Awards presented by Fidelity Investments celebrate their 61st year in 2019. The awards were the first initiative in history to grant postgraduate scholarships based on both a player’s academic and athletic accomplishments, and the NFF has recognized 854 outstanding individuals since their inception. The Campbell Trophy® Presented by Mazda was first awarded in 1990 and is celebrating its 30th year in 2019. The trophy adds to the program’s prestige, having previously honored two Rhodes Scholars, a Rhodes Scholar finalist, two Heisman Trophy winners and six first-round NFL draft picks.
Fidelity Investments, a leading provider of workplace savings plans in higher education, serves as the presenting sponsor of the NFF National Scholar-Athlete Awards. Since 2013, the Campbell Trophy® has been prominently displayed inside its official home at the New York Athletic Club.
The past recipients of the Campbell Trophy® Presented by Mazda, include:
1990 – Chris Howard (Air Force)1991 – Brad Culpepper (Florida)1992 – Jim Hansen (Colorado)1993 – Thomas Burns (Virginia)1994 – Rob Zatechka (Nebraska)1995 – Bobby Hoying (Ohio State)1996 – Danny Wuerffel (Florida)1997 – Peyton Manning (Tennessee)1998 – Matt Stinchcomb (Georgia)1999 – Chad Pennington (Marshall)2000 – Kyle Vanden Bosch (Nebraska)2001 – Joaquin Gonzalez (Miami [FL])2002 – Brandon Roberts (Washington U. in St. Louis [MO])2003 – Craig Krenzel (Ohio State)2004 – Michael Munoz (Tennessee)2005 – Rudy Niswanger (LSU)2006 – Brian Leonard (Rutgers)2007 – Dallas Griffin (Texas)2008 – Alex Mack (California)2009 – Tim Tebow (Florida);2010 – Sam Acho (Texas)2011 – Andrew Rodriguez (Army West Point)2012 – Barrett Jones (Alabama)2013 – John Urschel (Penn State)2014 – David Helton (Duke)2015 – Ty Darlington (Oklahoma)2016 – Zach Terrell (Western Michigan)2017 – Micah Kiser (Virginia)2018 – Christian Wilkins (Clemson)
Semifinalists for this year’s award are as follows:
FOOTBALL BOWL SUBDIVISION
Isaiah Sanders, Air ForceJohn Lako, AkronJordan Fehr, Appalachian StateCody Creason, ArizonaKyle Williams, Arizona StateCody Grace, Arkansas StateJack Driscoll, AuburnRiley Miller, Ball StateMarques Jones, BaylorMatt Locher, Boise StateTalon Shumway, Brigham YoungMatt Otwinowski, BuffaloSteven Coutts, CaliforniaJordan Johnson, Central FloridaClay Walderzak, Central MichiganTyriq Harris, CharlotteSean Pollard, ClemsonLucas Cooper, ColoradoQuentin Harris, DukeAlex Turner, East CarolinaBrody Hoying, Eastern MichiganJames Morgan, Florida InternationalRodrigo Blankenship, GeorgiaTyler Bass, Georgia SouthernTerry Thomas, Georgia StateDre Brown, IllinoisNick Westbrook, IndianaRay Lima, Iowa StateAdam Holtorf, Kansas StateBlake Ferguson, LSUDustin Woodard, MemphisK.J. Osborn, Miami (FL)Jordan Glasgow, MichiganCole Chewins, Michigan StateTravis Brannan, NavyQuinton Conaway, NevadaDylan Brown, New Mexico StateJordan Steckler, Northern IllinoisJared Thomas, NorthwesternChristopher Finke, Notre DameJordan Fuller, Ohio StateConnor McGinnis, OklahomaMatt Ammendola, Oklahoma StateJustin Herbert, OregonAndrzej Hughes-Murray, Oregon StateBlake Gillikan, Penn StateJim Medure, PittsburghMarkus Bailey, PurdueMyles Adams, RiceParker Houston, San Diego StateJosh Love, San Jose StateJake Bentley, South CarolinaKirk Livingstone, South FloridaCasey Toohill, StanfordZack Mesday, TempleZach Shackelford, TexasBraden Mann, Texas A&MAndrew Martel, Texas at San AntonioHutch White, Texas StateTravis Bruffy, Texas TechReggie Gilliam, ToledoChristian Montano, TulaneJacoby Wildman, Utah StateCody Markel, VanderbiltJordan Mack, VirginiaCade Carney, Wake ForestNick Harris, WashingtonGage Gubrud, Washington StateReese Donahue, West VirginiaJon Wassink, Western MichiganCooper Rothe, Wyoming
FOOTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP SUBDIVISION
Pat Walker, Austin Peay StateNicholas Allsop, BrownAlex Pechin, BucknellBrad Sznajder, ButlerMichael Wooten, CampbellChris Puzzi, ColgateArman Samouk, ColumbiaJelani Taylor, CornellJack Traynor, DartmouthEthan Steinbacher, DavidsonTim Simon, DaytonJoe Caputo, Eastern IllinoisSamuel Hayworth, Eastern KentuckySpencer Blackburn, Eastern WashingtonElijah Richardson, Florida A&MBrogan McPartland, HarvardDerek Mountain, Holy CrossTy DeForest, Illinois StateCJ Anderson, Jackson StateAndrew McElroy, MaristDorian Kithcart, MercerDante Olson, MontanaJered Padmos, Montana StateIan McBorrough, Morgan StateDontrell Taylor, Nicholls StateRicky Thomas Jr., Norfolk StateBen Ellefson, North Dakota StateChris Zirkle, Northwestern StateGreg Begnoche, PennsylvaniaAndrew Griffin, PrincetonNick Bianco, Sacramento StateJordan Meachum, Sacred HeartChristian Rozeboom, South Dakota StateGaven DeFilippo, StetsonSeth Huner, Tennessee TechSimon Bingelis, VillanovaNate Atkins, William & MarySterling Strother, YaleKyle Hegedus, Youngstown State
DIVISION II
Clay Shreve, Ashland (OH)Ryan McCarthy, Bentley (MA)Dan List, Colorado State-PuebloLevi Murphy, East Stroudsburg (PA)Travis Russell, Ferris State (MI)Vincent Persichetti, Frostburg State (MD)Taylor Streeter, Harding (AR)Alex Goettl, Minnesota State MankatoTyler Lindsay, Newberry (SC)Zach Mohs, Northern State (SD)Ryan Spelhaug, Northwest Missouri StateHayden Ashley, Oklahoma BaptistBrockton Brown, Ouachita Baptist (AR)Gabriel Watson, Sioux Falls (SD)SirCharles Perkins, Southern ArkansasMatthew Haite, Stonehill (MA)Brant Bailey, Tarleton State (TX)Ryan Smith, Wayne State (MI)Connor Baroniunas, Wingate (NC)
DIVISION III
Kyle McGee, Allegheny (PA)Henry Atkeson, Amherst (MA)Luke Sawicki, Augustana (IL)Hayden Murphy, Berry (GA)Austin Lewter, Birmingham-Southern (AL)Joe Gowetski, Bowdoin (ME)Michael Lohmeier, Carnegie Mellon (PA)Isaac Withrow, Case Western Reserve (OH)Jon Alberts, Central (IA)Cal Lewellyn, Centre (KY)Connor Perkins, DePauw (IN)Brian Baca, East Texas BaptistMatthew Hamby, Franklin and Marshall (PA)Matthew Cracraft, Gallaudet (DC)David Taylor, Grinnell (IA)Blake Johnston, Hardin-Simmons (TX)Collin Hudgins, Hobart (NY)Michael Koos, Illinois CollegeJohn Hadac, Ithaca (NY)David Tammaro, Johns Hopkins (MD)Austin Montgomery, Juniata (PA)Cody Botts, Lycoming (PA)Ethan Levin, Macalester (MN)Trevor Schubert, MacMurray (IL)Spencer Baron, Maine MaritimeAlex Downard, Manchester (IN)AJ Iversen, Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyMarty Williams, Middlebury (VT)Clark Gaden, Monmouth (IL)Sal Pagano, Moravian (PA)Frazier Daniel, Mount Union (OH)Jax Harville, Ohio WesleyanBlake Roy, Redlands (CA)Monroe McKay, Rhodes (TN)Jackson Erdmann, Saint John’s (MN)Nick Bainter, Springfield (MA)Elijah Rice, St. Thomas (MN)Mitch Carsley, Susquehanna (PA)Matt Crawford, Thiel (PA)Frank Roche, Tufts (MA)Joe Vitelli, U.S. Merchant Marine Academy (NY)Johnny Davidson, Washington Univ. in St. Louis (MO)Will Kearney, Wesleyan (CT)Corey Kennedy, Wheaton (IL)Jeremy Subjinski, Williams (MA)Alex Wipperfurth, Wisconsin-OshkoshAaron Wisecup, Wisconsin-StoutMatt Anderson, Wisconsin-WhitewaterAdam Clark, Wooster (OH)
NAIA
John Trout, Dakota State (SD)Tyler Wagner, Dakota Wesleyan (SD)Bryce Cooney, Doane (NE)Jason Ferris, Montana WesternJoel Katzer, Morningside (IA)Sean Powell, Northwestern (IA)Noah Kasbohm, Peru State (NE)
