Middle Tennesee State University Athletics
Rooker named semifinalist for William V. Campbell Trophy
9/27/2017 9:58:00 AM | Football
Recognizes best scholar-athletes in football
IRVING, Texas (Sept. 27, 2017) – Recognizing one of the most impressive groups of scholar-athletes in the history of college football, The National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame (NFF) proudly announced today the 181 semifinalists for the 2017 William V. Campbell Trophy®, presented by Fidelity Investments®. The award recognizes an individual as the absolute best football scholar-athlete in the nation.
Middle Tennessee's Canon Rooker is on the list. The Blue Raider senior is majoring in biochemistry and owns a 3.741 GPA while serving as the Blue Raiders' all-conference kicker.
The NFF will announce 12-14 finalists on Nov. 1, and each of them will receive an $18,000 postgraduate scholarship as a member of the NFF National Scholar-Athlete Class, presented by Fidelity Investments. The finalists will travel to New York City for the 60th NFF Annual Awards Dinner on Dec. 5, 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 28th William V. Campbell Trophy® and have his postgraduate scholarship increased to $25,000.
"These 181 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. "It is important for us to showcase their success on the football field, in the classroom and in the community. 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® 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, which is endowed by HealthSouth. This year's postgraduate scholarships will push the program's all-time distribution to more than $11.3 million. Since 2013, the Campbell Trophy® has been prominently displayed inside its official home at the New York Athletic Club.
"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."
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.
2017 NFF WILLIAM V. CAMPBELL TROPHY® SEMIFINALISTS NOTES
Launched in 1959, the NFF National Scholar-Athlete Awards program became the first initiative in history to award postgraduate scholarships based on both a player's academic and athletic accomplishments, and it has recognized 828 outstanding individuals since its inception. The Campbell Trophy®, first awarded in 1990, adds to the program's prestige, having previously honored two Rhodes Scholars, a Rhodes Scholar finalist, two Heisman Trophy winners and five first-round NFL draft picks.
In 2011, the NFF and Fidelity Investments launched a multi-year initiative between the two organizations to celebrate the scholar-athlete ideal and a joint commitment to higher education. As part of the initiative, Fidelity became the first presenting sponsor of the NFF National Scholar-Athlete Awards program. In 2014, Fidelity became the presenting sponsor of the Campbell Trophy®.
Fidelity also helped launch the NFF Faculty Salutes, which recognize the contributions of the faculty athletics representatives at each of the institutions with an NFF National Scholar-Athlete. As part of the initiative, the NFF presents each of the faculty representatives with a plaque, and Fidelity donates $5,000 for the academic support services at each school with a total of $440,000 distributed from 2011-16.
2017 NFF WILLIAM V. CAMPBELL TROPHY® SEMIFINALISTS,
PRESENTED BY FIDELITY INVESTMENTS
Akron – Zach Guiser
Arizona State – Jacom Brimhall
Arkansas State – Blaise Taylor
Auburn – Daniel Carlson
Ball State – Vinnie Palazeti
Boise State – Mason Hampton
Bowling Green State – Nate Locke
Brigham Young – Keyan Norman
Buffalo – Tim Roberts
California – Matt Anderson
Central Michigan – Joe Ostman
Duke – Gabe Brandner
East Carolina – Thomas Sirk
Eastern Michigan – Jason Beck
Florida – Johnny Townsend
Georgia – Jeb Blazevich
Georgia State – Chandon Sullivan
Georgia Tech – Andrew Marshall
Illinois – Malik Turner
Iowa State – Jake Campos
Kansas State – Trent Tanking
Kentucky – Austin MacGinnis
LSU – Danny Etling
Marshall – Ryan Yurachek
Maryland – Adam Greene
Memphis – Riley Ferguson
Miami (Fla.) – Braxton Berrios
Michigan – Mike Wroblewski
Michigan State – Brian Allen
Middle Tennessee – Canon Rooker
Minnesota – Andrew Stelter
Mississippi – Gary Wunderlich
Mississippi State – Martinas Rankin
Nebraska – Chris Weber
Nevada – Austin Corbett
New Mexico State – Dalton Herrington
North Carolina State – Cole Cook
North Texas – Andy Flusche
Northern Illinois – Shane Wimann
Northwestern – Justin Jackson
Notre Dame – Greer Martini
Oklahoma State – Brad Lundblade
Old Dominion – Rob Thompson
Oregon State – Nick Porebski
Penn State – Brandon Smith
Pittsburgh – Ryan Winslow
Rice – D.J. Green
San Jose State – Nate Velichko
SMU – Evan Brown
South Alabama – Harrison Louden
South Carolina – Cory Helms
Southern Mississippi – Picasso Nelson
Stanford – David Bright
Syracuse – Jordan Martin
TCU – Patrick Morris
Temple – Nick Sharga
Tennessee – Todd Kelly Jr.
Texas State – Gabe Loyd
Texas Tech – Cameron Batson
Toledo – Cody Thompson
Tulane – John Leglue
UNLV – Kurt Palandech
UTSA – Brady Jones
Vanderbilt – Tommy Openshaw
Virginia – Micah Kiser
Wake Forest – Cam Serigne
Washington State – Peyton Pelluer
West Virginia – Mike Molina
Western Kentucky – Marcus Ward
Wisconsin – Joe Ferguson
Wyoming – Drew Van Maanen
Middle Tennessee's Canon Rooker is on the list. The Blue Raider senior is majoring in biochemistry and owns a 3.741 GPA while serving as the Blue Raiders' all-conference kicker.
The NFF will announce 12-14 finalists on Nov. 1, and each of them will receive an $18,000 postgraduate scholarship as a member of the NFF National Scholar-Athlete Class, presented by Fidelity Investments. The finalists will travel to New York City for the 60th NFF Annual Awards Dinner on Dec. 5, 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 28th William V. Campbell Trophy® and have his postgraduate scholarship increased to $25,000.
"These 181 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. "It is important for us to showcase their success on the football field, in the classroom and in the community. 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® 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, which is endowed by HealthSouth. This year's postgraduate scholarships will push the program's all-time distribution to more than $11.3 million. Since 2013, the Campbell Trophy® has been prominently displayed inside its official home at the New York Athletic Club.
"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."
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.
2017 NFF WILLIAM V. CAMPBELL TROPHY® SEMIFINALISTS NOTES
- 59th Year of the NFF National Scholar-Athlete Program
- 181 Nominations
- 3.59 Average GPA
- 8 Nominees with a perfect 4.0 GPA
- 40 Nominees with a 3.8 GPA or better
- 60 Nominees with a 3.7 GPA or Better
- 27 Academic All-America Selections
- 114 Captains
- 76 All-Conference Picks
- 19 All-Americans
- 10 Members of the 2017 AFCA Good Works Team
- 71 Nominees from the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS)
- 37 Nominees from the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision (FCS)
- 30 Nominees from NCAA Division II
- 33 Nominees from NCAA Division III
- 10 Nominees from the NAIA
- 102 Offensive Players
- 67 Defensive Players
- 12 Special Teams Players
Launched in 1959, the NFF National Scholar-Athlete Awards program became the first initiative in history to award postgraduate scholarships based on both a player's academic and athletic accomplishments, and it has recognized 828 outstanding individuals since its inception. The Campbell Trophy®, first awarded in 1990, adds to the program's prestige, having previously honored two Rhodes Scholars, a Rhodes Scholar finalist, two Heisman Trophy winners and five first-round NFL draft picks.
In 2011, the NFF and Fidelity Investments launched a multi-year initiative between the two organizations to celebrate the scholar-athlete ideal and a joint commitment to higher education. As part of the initiative, Fidelity became the first presenting sponsor of the NFF National Scholar-Athlete Awards program. In 2014, Fidelity became the presenting sponsor of the Campbell Trophy®.
Fidelity also helped launch the NFF Faculty Salutes, which recognize the contributions of the faculty athletics representatives at each of the institutions with an NFF National Scholar-Athlete. As part of the initiative, the NFF presents each of the faculty representatives with a plaque, and Fidelity donates $5,000 for the academic support services at each school with a total of $440,000 distributed from 2011-16.
2017 NFF WILLIAM V. CAMPBELL TROPHY® SEMIFINALISTS,
PRESENTED BY FIDELITY INVESTMENTS
| Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) |
Akron – Zach Guiser
Arizona State – Jacom Brimhall
Arkansas State – Blaise Taylor
Auburn – Daniel Carlson
Ball State – Vinnie Palazeti
Boise State – Mason Hampton
Bowling Green State – Nate Locke
Brigham Young – Keyan Norman
Buffalo – Tim Roberts
California – Matt Anderson
Central Michigan – Joe Ostman
Duke – Gabe Brandner
East Carolina – Thomas Sirk
Eastern Michigan – Jason Beck
Florida – Johnny Townsend
Georgia – Jeb Blazevich
Georgia State – Chandon Sullivan
Georgia Tech – Andrew Marshall
Illinois – Malik Turner
Iowa State – Jake Campos
Kansas State – Trent Tanking
Kentucky – Austin MacGinnis
LSU – Danny Etling
Marshall – Ryan Yurachek
Maryland – Adam Greene
Memphis – Riley Ferguson
Miami (Fla.) – Braxton Berrios
Michigan – Mike Wroblewski
Michigan State – Brian Allen
Middle Tennessee – Canon Rooker
Minnesota – Andrew Stelter
Mississippi – Gary Wunderlich
Mississippi State – Martinas Rankin
Nebraska – Chris Weber
Nevada – Austin Corbett
New Mexico State – Dalton Herrington
North Carolina State – Cole Cook
North Texas – Andy Flusche
Northern Illinois – Shane Wimann
Northwestern – Justin Jackson
Notre Dame – Greer Martini
Oklahoma State – Brad Lundblade
Old Dominion – Rob Thompson
Oregon State – Nick Porebski
Penn State – Brandon Smith
Pittsburgh – Ryan Winslow
Rice – D.J. Green
San Jose State – Nate Velichko
SMU – Evan Brown
South Alabama – Harrison Louden
South Carolina – Cory Helms
Southern Mississippi – Picasso Nelson
Stanford – David Bright
Syracuse – Jordan Martin
TCU – Patrick Morris
Temple – Nick Sharga
Tennessee – Todd Kelly Jr.
Texas State – Gabe Loyd
Texas Tech – Cameron Batson
Toledo – Cody Thompson
Tulane – John Leglue
UNLV – Kurt Palandech
UTSA – Brady Jones
Vanderbilt – Tommy Openshaw
Virginia – Micah Kiser
Wake Forest – Cam Serigne
Washington State – Peyton Pelluer
West Virginia – Mike Molina
Western Kentucky – Marcus Ward
Wisconsin – Joe Ferguson
Wyoming – Drew Van Maanen
Players Mentioned
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