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 2016 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.
Four of the dozen finalists hail from Power Five programs (Arkansas, BYU, Duke, Wake Forest), while another four come from Group of Five teams (Central Michigan, East Carolina, San Jose State, Western Michigan). There’s also two from the FCS (Dayton, Northern Iowa) and one each from Div. II (Delta State (Miss.)) and Div. III (St. John’s (Minn.)).
Oklahoma’s Ty Darlington was the 2015 winner of the Campbell Trophy.
Below are the 12 finalists for this year’s award, along with their GPAs and majors:
Chris Beaschler, LB, Dayton, 3.72, Mechanical Engineering
Tim Crawley, WR, San Jose State, 3.78, Business Management
DeVon Edwards, S, Duke, 3.35, Psychology
Brooks Ellis, LB, Arkansas, 3.82, Exercise Science
Carter Hanson, LB, St. John’s (Minn.), 4.00, Business Leadership
Taysom Hill, QB, BYU, 3.45, Finance
Ryan Janvion, S, Wake Forest, 3.53, Business Management
Zay Jones, WR, East Carolina, 3.56, Communications
Cooper Rush, QB, Central Michigan, 3.86, Actuarial Science
Karter Schult, DL, Northern Iowa, 3.87, Exercise Science
Tyler Sullivan, QB, Delta State (Miss.), 3.68, Biology
Zach Terrell, QB, Western Michigan, 3.66, Finance