Middle Tennessee State University Athletics

Blankenship selected as a candidate for the 2021 Senior CLASS Award
10/6/2021 2:00:00 PM | Football
One of just 30 nationally
OVERLAND PARK, Kan. (October 6, 2021) – Thirty NCAA® football bowl subdivision student-athletes who excel both on and off the field were selected today as candidates for the 2021 Senior CLASS Award®. Middle Tennessee's Reed Blankenship made the prestigious list and is the only representative from Conference USA.
To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I FBS senior or graduate student and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence: community, classroom, character and competition. The complete list of candidates follows this release.
An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School®, the Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student-athlete and encourages students to use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact as leaders in their communities.
The 30 candidates will be narrowed to 10 finalists later in the season, and those 10 names will be placed on the official ballot. Ballots will be distributed through a nationwide voting system to media, coaches and fans, who will select one candidate who best exemplifies excellence in the four Cs of community, classroom, character and competition.
The Senior CLASS Award winner will be announced during football bowl season in December.
For more information on each of the candidates, visit seniorCLASSaward.com.
2021 Senior CLASS Award FBS Football Candidates
Reed Blankenship, Middle Tennessee
Hayden Howerton, SMU
Thomas Booker, Stanford
Andrzej Hughes-Murray, Oregon State
Nick Brahms, Auburn
Aidan Hutchinson, Michigan
Anthony Brown Jr., Oregon
Zion Johnson, Boston College
Sean Clifford, Penn State
Silas Kelly, Coastal Carolina
Jack Coan, Notre Dame
Keegan Markgraf, Utah
Jordan Davis, Georgia
Chris Olave, Ohio State
Spencer Eason-Riddle, South Carolina
Conner Olson, Minnesota
Matt Ference, Northern Illinois
Kenny Pickett, Pittsburgh
Nick Figueroa, USC
Brock Purdy, Iowa State
Ty Fryfogle, Indiana
Isaiah Sanders, Stanford
Bryce Harris, Toledo
Ben Stille, Nebraska
Blake Hayes, Illinois
Andrew Vastardis, Michigan
Nick Heninger, Utah State
Riley Whimpey, Boise State
Thomas Hennigan, Appalachian State
Charles Williams, UNLV
To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I FBS senior or graduate student and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence: community, classroom, character and competition. The complete list of candidates follows this release.
An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School®, the Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student-athlete and encourages students to use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact as leaders in their communities.
The 30 candidates will be narrowed to 10 finalists later in the season, and those 10 names will be placed on the official ballot. Ballots will be distributed through a nationwide voting system to media, coaches and fans, who will select one candidate who best exemplifies excellence in the four Cs of community, classroom, character and competition.
The Senior CLASS Award winner will be announced during football bowl season in December.
For more information on each of the candidates, visit seniorCLASSaward.com.
2021 Senior CLASS Award FBS Football Candidates
Reed Blankenship, Middle Tennessee
Hayden Howerton, SMU
Thomas Booker, Stanford
Andrzej Hughes-Murray, Oregon State
Nick Brahms, Auburn
Aidan Hutchinson, Michigan
Anthony Brown Jr., Oregon
Zion Johnson, Boston College
Sean Clifford, Penn State
Silas Kelly, Coastal Carolina
Jack Coan, Notre Dame
Keegan Markgraf, Utah
Jordan Davis, Georgia
Chris Olave, Ohio State
Spencer Eason-Riddle, South Carolina
Conner Olson, Minnesota
Matt Ference, Northern Illinois
Kenny Pickett, Pittsburgh
Nick Figueroa, USC
Brock Purdy, Iowa State
Ty Fryfogle, Indiana
Isaiah Sanders, Stanford
Bryce Harris, Toledo
Ben Stille, Nebraska
Blake Hayes, Illinois
Andrew Vastardis, Michigan
Nick Heninger, Utah State
Riley Whimpey, Boise State
Thomas Hennigan, Appalachian State
Charles Williams, UNLV
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