Wuerffel Trophy Announces Record Number of Nominations for 2016
94 Players Considered for College Football’s Top Community Service Award
FORT WALTON BEACH, Fla. — Oct. 19, 2016 — The Wuerffel Trophy announces its list of nominees with a record number of 94 players from college football’s Football Bowl Subdivision being considered for the 2016 award.
The Wuerffel Trophy, known as “College Football’s Premier Award for Community Service,” is presented annually by the All Sports Association in Fort Walton Beach. Named after 1996 Heisman Trophy winning quarterback Danny Wuerffel, from the University of Florida, the Wuerffel Trophy is awarded to the FBS player who best combines exemplary community service with athletic and academic achievement.
“Once again, we’ve received almost 100 outstanding nominations for the 2016 Wuerffel Trophy,” said Wuerffel. “What a pleasure we have highlighting these fine young men and their contributions to their communities.”
The Southeastern Conference led all conferences nominating 14 players. The ACC followed with 12, while the Big 10 and Conference USA submitted 10 each. Along with the Big 12, the Mountain West had a record 9 nominations, the American Athletic submitted 8, the PAC 12 had 7 while the Sun Belt and MAC had 6 nominees each. In addition, all three Independent universities submitted nominations. All FBS conferences are represented on the 2016 Wuerffel Trophy nominee list.
Voting for the Wuerffel Trophy is performed by a National Selection Committee that includes college football television and print media, industry notables, former head coaches and prior Wuerffel Trophy recipients.
The 2016 Wuerffel Trophy Nominees, listed alphabetically by university:
Darian Small, Appalachian State University, senior, defensive line
Viliami “Laiu” Moeakiola, Arizona State University, senior, defensive back
Blaise Taylor, Arkansas State University, junior, defensive back/special teams
Daniel Carlson, Auburn University, junior, kicker
Seth Russell, Baylor University, senior, quarterback
Ben Weaver, Boise State University, senior, linebacker
Myles Willis, Boston College, senior, running back
Mitchell Juergens, Brigham Young University, senior, wide receiver
Jesse Kroll, Central Michigan University, senior, wide receiver
Deshaun Watson, Clemson University, junior, quarterback
Zack Golditch, Colorado State University, junior, offensive line
DeVon Edwards, Duke University, senior, defensive back
Zay Jones, East Carolina University, senior, wide receiver
Cole Gardner, Eastern Michigan University, senior, offensive line
Shalom Ogbonda, Florida Atlantic University, senior,defensive line
Michael Montero, Florida International University, senior, offensive line
Alec Eberle, Florida State University, sophomore, offensive line
Jacob Vazquez Fresno State University, senior, offensive line
Keith Rucker, Georgia State University, senior, tight end
KeShun Freeman, Georgia Tech University, junior, defensive end
Mitchell Paige, Indiana University, senior, wide receiver
Cole Nettan, Iowa State University, senior, kicker
Dante Barnett, Kansas State University, senior, defensive back
Nick Cuthbert, Kent State University, senior, linebacker/defensive back
Colin Jeter, Louisiana State University, senior, tight end
Ryan Yurachek, Marshall University, junior, tight end
Josiah Price, Michigan State University, senior, tight end
Brent Stockstill, Middle Tennessee State University, sophomore, quarterback
Brandon Holloway, Mississippi State University, senior, wide receiver
Larry Rose III, New Mexico State University, junior, running back
Tony Adams, North Carolina State University, junior, offensive line
Jarrod Barnes, Ohio State University, senior, defensive back
Mason Rudolph, Oklahoma State University, junior, quarterback
Tyler Compton, Old Dominion University, senior, offensive line
Ryan Nall, Oregon State University, sophomore, running back
David Blough, Purdue University, sophomore, quarterback
Darik Dillard, Rice University, senior, running back
Daniel Brunskill, San Diego State University, senior, offensive line
Tim Crawley, San Jose State University, senior, wide receiver/special teams
Jeremiah Gaines, Southern Methodist University, senior, tight end
Christian McCaffrey, Stanford University, junior, running back
Jason Emerich, Syracuse University, senior, offensive line
Brendan McGowan, Temple University, senior, offensive line
Trevor Knight, Texas A & M University, senior, quarterback
Aaron Curry, Texas Christian University, senior, defensive line
Felix Romero, Texas State University, senior, offensive line
Patrick Mahomes II, Texas Tech University, junior, quarterback
John Johnson, Troy University, junior, wide receiver
Weston Steelhammer, United States Air Force Academy, senior, defensive back
Andrew King, United States Military Academy, senior, linebacker
Will Worth, United States Naval Academy, senior, quarterback
Zach Guiser, University of Akron, junior, defensive back
O.J. Howard, University of Alabama, senior, tight end
Brooks Ellis, University of Arkansas, senior, linebacker
Jack Austin, University of California, junior, wide receiver/special teams
Sefo Liufau, University of Colorado, senior, quarterback
Bobby Puyol, University of Connecticut, senior, kicker
Jarrad Davis, University of Florida, senior, linebacker
Jeb Blazevich, University of Georgia, junior, tight end
Leo Koloamatangi, University of Hawaii, senior, offensive line
Greg Ward, Jr., University of Houston, senior, quarterback
Joe Spencer, University of Illinois, senior, offensive line
LeShun Daniels, Jr., University of Iowa, senior, running back
Fish Smithson, University of Kansas, senior, defensive back
Courtney Love, University of Kentucky, junior, linebacker
William Likely III, University of Maryland, senior, defensive back/special teams
Jake Elliott, University of Memphis, senior, kicker
Brad Kaaya, University of Miami, junior, quarterback
Jake Butt, University of Michigan, senior, tight end
Damarius Travis, University of Minnesota, senior, defensive back
Evan Engram, University of Mississippi, senior, tight end
Michael Scherer, University of Missouri, senior, linebacker
Drew Brown, University of Nebraska, junior, kicker
Garrett Adcock, University of New Mexico, senior, offensive line
Nick Weiler, University of North Carolina, senior, kicker
Jamal Covington, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, senior, offensive line
Drue Tranquill, University of Notre Dame, junior, defensive back
Samaje Perine, University of Oklahoma, junior, running back
Mike Caprara, University of Pittsburgh, senior, linebacker
Elliott Fry, University of South Carolina, senior, kicker
John Plattenburg, University of Southern California, junior, defensive back
Nick Mullens, University of Southern Mississippi, senior, quarterback
Joshua Dobbs, University of Tennessee, senior, quarterback
Aaron Jones, University of Texas El Paso, junior, running back
Brad Spelman, University of Toledo, junior, long snapper
Dane Evans, University of Tulsa, senior, quarterback
Jeff Lindquist, University of Washington, senior, tight end
Skylar Howard, University of West Virginia, senior, quarterback
Travis Seefeldt, Utah State University, senior, defensive line
Oren Burks, Vanderbilt University, junior, linebacker/defensive back
Sam Rogers, Virginia Tech University, senior, running back
Ryan Janvion, Wake Forest University, senior, defensive back
Marcus Ward, Western Kentucky University, senior, defensive back
Zach Terrell, Western Michigan University, senior, quarterback
Nominations for the Wuerffel Trophy are made by the respective university Sports Information departments and closed on Oct. 14, 2016. Semifinalists for the award will be announced on Nov. 3, 2016, and finalists announced on Nov. 23, 2016. The formal announcement of the 2016 Wuerffel Trophy recipient will be on Dec. 6, 2016, at the National Football Foundation’s press conference in New York City.
The 2016 Wuerffel Trophy winner will be interviewed at “The Home Depot College Football Awards Red Carpet Show” on ESPNU and ESPN3 on Dec. 8, 2016, airing at 6 p.m. EST/5 p.m. CST, featuring interviews with award winners and finalists as they approach The Home Depot College Football Awards Show, the College Football Hall of Fame and Chick-fil-A Fan Experience in downtown Atlanta, Georgia. The presentation of the 2016 Wuerffel Trophy will occur at the 48th Annual All Sports Association Awards Banquet on Feb. 10, 2017, in Fort Walton Beach.
Past winners of the Wuerffel Trophy are: 2015 Ty Darlington, University of Oklahoma; 2014 Deterrian Shackelford, University of Mississippi; 2013 Gabe Ikard, University of Oklahoma; 2012 Matt Barkley, University of Southern California; 2011 Barrett Jones, University of Alabama; 2010 Sam Acho, University of Texas; 2009 Tim Hiller, Western Michigan University; 2008 Tim Tebow, University of Florida; 2007 Paul Smith, University of Tulsa; 2006 Joel Penton, Ohio State University; and 2005 Rudy Niswanger, Louisiana State University.
The Wuerffel Trophy is a member of the National College Football Awards Association, which encompasses the most prestigious awards in college football. The 23 awards boast more than 700 years of tradition-selection excellence. For more information, go to www.NCFAA.org. For more information on the Wuerffel Trophy, visit www.wuerffeltrophy.org.
Contact: Tom Brassell, tombrassell@wuerffeltrophy.org, 850-585-5512
