As the watch lists for on-field honors continue to roll out, an award for what’s essentially scholastic excellence has significantly whittled its list to the chosen several.
The National Football Foundation, in conjunction with the College Football Hall of Fame, announced Thursday the finalists for the 2015 William V. Campbell Trophy. Commonly referred to as the “Academic Heisman,” the Campbell Trophy annually “recognizes an individual as the absolute best football scholar-athlete in the nation.”
Five of the dozen finalists hail from Power Five programs (Baylor, Mississippi State,Ohio State, Oklahoma, UCLA), while another four come from Group of Five teams (Kent State, Navy, Nevada, UMass). There are also one each from the FCS (Montana), Div. II (Ferris State) and Div. III (Mount Union).
Below are the 12 finalists for this year’s award.
“We are extremely proud to announce this year’s finalists for the Campbell Trophy, who make up the National Scholar-Athlete Class,” NFF president & CEO Steve Hatchell said in a statement. “These young men have an unrelenting commitment to excellence in all aspects of their lives, and they represent all that is right in college football. They serve as living examples of our mission of Building Leaders Through Football, and we are excited to be able to honor their hard work and accomplishments with postgraduate scholarships.”
Each of the 12 finalists will receive an $18,000 postgraduate scholarship. Te winner will have another $8,000 added to that for a $25 postgrad scholarship.
Courtesy of the NFF, here are some of the 12-player classes’ highlights:
- 3.76 Average GPA
- 11-of-12 Team Captains, including four players who have been captains for two or more years
- 11-of-12 Academic All-Conference Athletes
- 7-of-12 All-Conference Athletes (including one all-independent selection)
- 6 Academic All-America Selections (Boren, Crittenden, Darlington, Italiano, Spencer, Vander Laan)
- 1 Rhodes Scholarship Finalist (Crittenden)
- 4 Players Who Have Already Graduated (Calhoun, Darlington, Drango, Frohnapfel), with three more on track to graduate by this December (Boren, Crittenden, Vander Laan)
- 4 All-America Picks (Brendel, Drango, Spencer, Vander Laan)
- 1 Major Award Winner (Vander Laan – Harlon Hill Trophy)
- 2 Members of National Championship Teams (Boren, Spencer)
- 5 Members of Conference Championship Teams (Boren, Darlington, Drango, Spencer, Vander Laan)
- 6 Members of Nationally Ranked Teams* (as of 10/29) (Boren, Crittenden, Darlington, Drango, Spencer, Vander Laan)
- 7 Offensive Players (Binns, Boren, Brendel, Darlington, Drango, Frohnapfel, Vander Laan)
- 5 Defensive Players (Calhoun, Crittenden, Dobrich, Italiano, Spencer)
The 2014 winner of the award was Duke’s David Helton. A non-FBS players hasn’t won the award since Brandon Roberts of Washington University in St. Louis took home the 2002 version trophy.