3 Players in Consideration for College Football’s Top Community Service Award
FORT WALTON BEACH, Fla. – Nov. 20, 2017 – The Wuerffel Trophy announces the three finalists for the 2017 Wuerffel Trophy, known as “College Football’s Premier Award for Community Service,” which is presented annually in Fort Walton Beach.
The 2017 Wuerffel Trophy finalists, listed alphabetically by university, are:
Blaise Taylor, Arkansas State University, senior, defensive back
Courtney Love, University of Kentucky, senior, linebacker
Drue Tranquill, University of Notre Dame, senior, linebacker
“This has been an both an incredibly inspiring and unbelievably difficult selection process this year,” said Danny Wuerffel. “There are so many quality young men doing so many good things in their communities and abroad to serve others. That’s the encouraging part. The excruciating part is narrowing it down to three finalists.”
The Wuerffel Trophy, named after Wuerffel, the 1996 Heisman Trophy winning quarterback from the University of Florida, is awarded to the Football Bowl Subdivision player who best combines exemplary community service with athletic and academic achievement.
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 formal announcement of the 2017 Wuerffel Trophy recipient will be on Dec. 5, 2017, at the National Football Foundation’s press conference in New York City.
The 2017 Wuerffel Trophy recipient will be interviewed at “The Home Depot College Football Awards Red Carpet Show” on ESPNU and ESPN3 on Dec. 7, 2017, 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 at the College Football Hall of Fame in downtown Atlanta, Georgia. The presentation of the 2017 Wuerffel Trophy will occur at the 49th Annual All Sports Association Awards Banquet on Feb. 16, 2018, in Fort Walton Beach.
Past winners of the Wuerffel Trophy are: 2016 Trevor Knight, Texas A&M University; 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.
The Wuerffel Trophy is supported by its corporate partners, Dart Container Corporation/Solo Cup and Herff Jones.
# # #
Contact: Tom Brassell, tombrassell@wuerffeltrophy.org
