Pratt, Wooldridge, Williams, Bernard named semifinalists for Campbell Trophy

Four student-athletes from Louisiana schools are semifinals for the annual William V. Campbell Award, presented annually to the top-scholar athlete by the National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame, led by chairman Archie Manning.

Those from FBS Louisiana schools on the list include Ben Wooldridge of the University of Louisiana (Lafayette), Josh Williams of LSU and Michael Pratt of Tulane.

From the FCS level, Zach Bernard of Nicholls is also a semifinalist.

Rudy Niswanger of LSU is the only player from a Louisiana school to win the award, doing so in 2005. The award has been presented annually since 1990.

A list of 12 to 14 finalists will be announced on October 25.

NFF RELEASE:
IRVING, Texas – The National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame (NFF) proudly announced today a record number of 201 semifinalists for the 2023 William V. Campbell Trophy®, college football’s premier scholar-athlete award. The new highwater mark eclipses the 199 nominees in 2000. The impressive list of candidates boasts an impressive 3.62 average GPA, with more than half of the semifinalists having already earned their bachelor’s degrees.

Celebrating its 34th year, the Campbell Trophy® recognizes an individual as the absolute best football scholar-athlete in the nation for his combined academic success, football performance and exemplary leadership.

2023 WILLIAM V. CAMPBELL TROPHY® SEMIFINALISTS NOTES
• 34th year of the William V. Campbell Trophy®
• 65th year of the NFF National Scholar-Athlete Awards Presented by Fidelity Investments
• 201 Semifinalists
• 3.65 Average GPA
• 121 Nominees who have already earned their bachelor’s degrees
• 5 Nominees who have earned a master’s degree
• 10 Nominees with a perfect 4.0 GPA
• 63 Nominees with a 3.8 GPA or better
• 85 Nominees with a 3.7 GPA or better
• 24 Academic All-America selections
• 121 Captains
• 24 All-Americans
• 108 All-Conference picks

“These 201 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. “During the past seven decades, the NFF National Scholar-Athlete Awards have recognized 906 college football players who excelled as the best our great sport has to offer. This year’s semifinalists build on the tradition, further illustrating the power of football to develop the next generation of influential leaders.”

The NFF will announce 12-14 finalists on Oct. 25, and each of them will receive an $18,000 postgraduate scholarship as a member of the 2023 NFF National Scholar-Athlete Class Presented by Fidelity Investments. The finalists will travel to the ARIA Resort & Casino in Las Vegas for the 65th NFF Annual Awards Dinner Presented by Las Vegas 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 34th Campbell Trophy® and have his postgraduate scholarship increased to $25,000. Click here for more information on the Awards Dinner, including options to purchase tickets online, special travel rates to the event from Delta Air Lines and room rates at the ARIA.

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.

“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.”

Launched in 1959, the NFF National Scholar-Athlete Awards Presented by Fidelity Investments celebrate their 65th year in 2023. The awards were the first initiative in history to grant postgraduate scholarships based on both a player’s academic and athletic accomplishments, and the NFF has recognized 906 outstanding individuals since the program’s inception. This year’s postgraduate scholarships will push the program’s all-time distribution to more than $12.6 million.

The Campbell Trophy® was first awarded in 1990, adding to the program’s prestige. Past recipients include two Rhodes Scholars, a Rhodes Scholar finalist, two Heisman Trophy winners and eight first-round NFL draft picks. Named in honor of the late Bill Campbell, the trophy has been prominently displayed inside its official home at the New York Athletic Club since 2013, and the winner is honored each year during a special luncheon at the storied venue.

Known as “The Coach of Silicon Valley,” Campbell became one of our country’s most influential business leaders, playing critical roles in the success of Apple, Google, Intuit and countless other high-tech companies. The captain of the 1961 Columbia Ivy League championship team, he found his true calling after an unlikely career change at age 39 from football coach to advertising executive. His ability to recruit, develop, and manage talented executives – all lessons learned on the gridiron – proved to be a critical component of his ability to inspire his business teams to the highest levels of success.

Later in life, Campbell was driven by a heartfelt desire to give back, and he quietly gave away tens of millions of dollars to multiple charities while also finding an hour and half each autumn weekday to coach an eighth-grade boys and girls flag-football team near his home in Palo Alto, California. Campbell passed away April 18, 2016, at the age of 75.

As part of its support of the NFF National Scholar-Athlete Awards, Fidelity Investments helped launch the NFF Faculty Salutes, which recognize the contributions of the faculty athletics representatives at each of the institutions with a finalist for the Campbell Trophy®. Once the finalists are selected, the NFF will present each of their faculty athletics representatives with a plaque and Fidelity will donate $5,000 for the academic support services at each school. The salutes have recognized 168 FARs since the program’s inception, and Fidelity has made a total of $830,000 in donations.

2023 Campbell Trophy® Semifinalists by Division and Position

• 89 Nominees from the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS)
• 39 Nominees from the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision (FCS)
• 15 Nominees from NCAA Division II
• 48 Nominees from NCAA Division III
• 10 Nominees from the NAIA
• 86 Offensive Players
• 99 Defensive Players
• 16 Special Teams Players

2023 WILLIAM V. CAMPBELL TROPHY® SEMIFINALISTS

FOOTBALL BOWL SUBDIVISION
Alabama – Seth McLaughlin
Appalachian State – Bucky Williams
Arizona – Kyle Ostendorp
Arizona State – Michael Matus
Arkansas – Hudson Clark
Auburn – Tyler Fromm
Boise State – Riley Smith
Bowling Green State – Demetrius Hardamon
Brigham Young – Ben Bywater
Buffalo – Alex McNulty
California – Matthew Cindric
Central Florida – Jason Johnson
Central Michigan – Robi Stuart
Cincinnati – Malik Vann
Clemson – Sheridan Jones
Duke – DeWayne Carter
East Carolina – Jeremy Lewis
Eastern Michigan – Tanner Knue
Florida – Ricky Pearsall
Florida State – Preston Daniel
Fresno State – Levelle Bailey
Georgia – Ladd McConkey
Georgia State – Seth Glausier
Georgia Tech – Gavin Stewart
Illinois – Isaiah Williams
Indiana – Trey Walker
Iowa State – Easton Dean
Kansas – Mason Fairchild
Kansas State – Cooper Beebe
Kentucky – Alex Raynor
Louisiana – Ben Wooldridge
Louisiana State – Josh Williams
Louisville – Bryan Hudson
Marshall – Logan Osburn
Maryland – Taulia Tagovailoa
Memphis – Jacob Likes
Miami – Jalen Rivers
Michigan – Zak Zinter
Michigan State – Maverick Hansen
Mississippi – Isaac Ukwu
Mississippi State – Ryland Goede
Missouri – Brady Cook
Nebraska – Brian Buschini
Nevada, Las Vegas – Amanaki Fahina
North Carolina – Spencer Rolland
North Carolina State – Timothy McKay
Northern Illinois – James Ester
Northwestern – Bryce Gallagher
Notre Dame – JD Bertrand
Ohio – Bryce Houston
Ohio State – Cody Simon
Oklahoma – Drake Stoops
Oklahoma State – Alex Hale
Old Dominion – Michael Flores
Oregon – Bo Nix
Oregon State – Isaac Hodgins
Penn State – Olu Fashanu
Pittsburgh – Shayne Simon
Purdue – Gus Hartwig
Rice – Luke McCaffrey
Rutgers – Mayan Ahanotu
San Jose State – Tre Jenkins
South Carolina – Kai Kroeger
Southern Mississippi – Swayze Bozeman
Stanford – John Humphreys
Syracuse – Garrett Shrader
Temple – Jordan Magee
Tennessee – Jacob Warren
Texas A&M – Nik Constantinou
Texas at El Paso – Andrew Meyer
Texas at San Antonio – Lucas Dean
Texas Christian – Chase Curtis
Texas Tech – Jaylon Hutchings
Toledo – Judge Culpepper
Troy – Clayton Ollendieck
Tulane – Michael Pratt
United States Air Force Academy – Caleb Rillos
United States Military Academy – Leo Lowin
United States Naval Academy – Eavan Gibbons
Utah – Devaughn Vele
Vanderbilt – Ethan Barr
Virginia – Paul Akere
Wake Forest – Michael Jurgens
Washington – Edefuan Ulofoshio
Washington State – Dean Janikowski
West Virginia – Zach Frazier
Western Kentucky – Austin Reed
Western Michigan – Boone Bonnema
Wisconsin – Maema Njongmeta

FOOTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP SUBDIVISION (FCS)
Alcorn State – Akeem McNair
Austin Peay State – Michael DiLiello
Brown – Justin Anagonye
Bucknell – Coleman Bennett
Butler – Bryan Bystol
California, Davis – Jordan Ford
Colgate – Zack Pelland
College of the Holy Cross – Jacob Dobbs
College of William & Mary – Will Whitehurst
Columbia – Joey Giorgi
Cornell – Jake Stebbins
Dartmouth – Macklin Ayers
Dayton – Derek Willits
Delaware – Chandler Harvin
Eastern Illinois – Chad Strickland
Gardner-Webb – William McRainey
Harvard – Garrett Sharp
Incarnate Word – Jayden Borjas
Lehigh – Christian Jablonski
Marist – Justin Iaccio
Montana – TraJon Cotton
Montana State – Nolan Askelson
New Hampshire – Max Brosmer
Nicholls State – Zack Bernard
North Carolina Central – Davius Richard
North Dakota – Ben McNaboe
Pennsylvania – Jack Fairman
Princeton – Jalen Travis
Richmond – Tristan Wheeler
Sacramento State – Jett Stanley
Samford – Chandler Smith
South Dakota – Brock Mogensen
Stonehill – David Satkowski
Stony Brook – Aidan Kaler
Tennessee at Chattanooga – Ailym Ford
Tennessee Tech – Bradley Clark
Towson – Jamal Gay
Western Carolina – Richard McCollum
Yale – Wande Owens

DIVISION II
Ashland (OH) – Jake McLoughlin
Benedict (SC) – Loobert Denelus
Bentley (MA) – Jake Tarentino
Black Hills State (SD) – Ryder Blair
Colorado State Pueblo – Chance Fuller
East Stroudsburg (PA) – Daryn Blackwell
Henderson State (AR) – Shaq Robinson
Hillsdale (MI) – Michael Harding
Northern State (SD) – Bradyn Oakley
Ouachita Baptist (AR) – Riley Harms
Penn West, California (PA) – Jack Colecchi
Slippery Rock (PA) – Yuriy Hryckowian
Southern Arkansas – Jacob Berry
Wayne State (MI) – Drake Reid
Wingate (NC) – Trevor Grant

DIVISION III
Allegheny (PA) – Declan O’Brien
Augsburg (MN) – Justin Tverberg
Bates (ME) – Cole De Magistris
Birmingham-Southern (AL) – Conner Thornburg
Bowdoin (ME) – Andre Eden
Carnegie Mellon (PA) – Dustin Moss
Case Western Reserve (OH) – Marco Toth
Central (IA) – Jeff Herbers
Cornell (IA) – Sam Adams
DePauw (IN) – Brevon Gude
Gallaudet (DC) – Jonathon Waterman
Hamline (MN) – Charlie Wilson
Hampden-Sydney (VA) – George Langhammer
Hardin-Simmons (TX) – Gaylon Glynn
Hobart (NY) – Abdoulaye Diallo
Ithaca (NY) – A.J. Wingfield
John Carroll (OH) – Bricker Thiel
Johns Hopkins (MD) – Luke Schuermann
Lake Forest (IL) – Justin Albee
Loras (IA) – Brett Bower
Lycoming (PA) – Hunter Campbell
Lyon (AR) – Karson Douglas
McMurry (TX) – Malachi LeCadre-Grey
Methodist (NC) – Brandon Bullins
Middlebury (VT) – Tomás Kenary
Millsaps (MS) – Conner Rucker
Mount Union (OH) – Braxton Plunk
North Central (IL) – Jarod Thornton
Saint John’s (MN) – Aaron Syverson
Shenandoah (VA) – Noah Temme
Springfield (MA) – DJ Brown
St. Olaf (MN) – Ben Hestorff
SUNY, Morrisville – Steve Frerichs
The of Wooster (OH) – Lake Barrett
Trinity (CT) – Darren Warren
Trinity (TX) – Tucker Horn
Wabash (IN) – Liam Thompson
Wartburg (IA) – Owen Grover
Washington & Jefferson (PA) – Justin Johns
Wesleyan (CT) – Jake Edwards
Western New England (MA) – Joe Shea
Westminster (PA) – Carter Chinn
Wilkes (PA) – Billy Anderson
Wisconsin Lutheran – Kyle Kubacki
Wisconsin-Oshkosh – Kobe Berghammer
Wisconsin-Platteville – Justin Blazek
Wisconsin-Stout – Gervase Thompson
Wisconsin-Whitewater – Egon Hein

NAIA
Dakota State (SD) – Cole Sylliaasen
Doane (NE) – Ty Martinsen
Evangel (MO) – Andreas Moeller
Friends (KS) – Keegan Martin
Indiana Wesleyan – Xander Stokes
Montana Western – Tanner Harrell
Peru State (NE) – Will Mueller
Rocky Mountain (MT) – Dylan Beridon
Southeastern (FL) – Shane McLaughlin
Texas Wesleyan – Michael Bonner

Historical List of Campbell Trophy® Winners

1990 – Chris Howard (Air Force)
1991 – Brad Culpepper (Florida)
1992 – Jim Hansen (Colorado)
1993 – Thomas Burns (Virginia)
1994 – Rob Zatechka (Nebraska)
1995 – Bobby Hoying (Ohio State)
1996 – Danny Wuerffel (Florida)
1997 – Peyton Manning (Tennessee)
1998 – Matt Stinchcomb (Georgia)
1999 – Chad Pennington (Marshall)
2000 – Kyle Vanden Bosch (Nebraska)
2001 – Joaquin Gonzalez (Miami [FL])
2002 – Brandon Roberts (Washington U. in St. Louis [MO])
2003 – Craig Krenzel (Ohio State)
2004 – Michael Munoz (Tennessee)
2005 – Rudy Niswanger (LSU)
2006 – Brian Leonard (Rutgers)
2007 – Dallas Griffin (Texas)
2008 – Alex Mack (California)
2009 – Tim Tebow (Florida)
2010 – Sam Acho (Texas)
2011 – Andrew Rodriguez (Army West Point)
2012 – Barrett Jones (Alabama)
2013 – John Urschel (Penn State)
2014 – David Helton (Duke)
2015 – Ty Darlington (Oklahoma)
2016 – Zach Terrell (Western Michigan)
2017 – Micah Kiser (Virginia)
2018 – Christian Wilkins (Clemson)
2019 – Justin Herbert (Oregon)
2020 – Brady White (Memphis)
2021 – Charlie Kolar (Iowa State)
2022 – Jack Campbell (Iowa)

About The National College Football Awards Association
The William V. Campbell Trophy® is a member of the National College Football Awards Association (NCFAA), which encompasses the most prestigious awards in college football. Founded in 1997, the NCFAA and its 24 awards now boast over 900 recipients, dating to 1935. Visit ncfaa.org to learn more about the association.

About The National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame
Founded in 1947 with early leadership from General Douglas MacArthur, legendary Army coach Earl “Red” Blaik and immortal journalist Grantland Rice, The National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame is a non-profit educational organization that runs programs designed to use the power of amateur football in developing scholarship, citizenship, and athletic achievement in young people. With 120 chapters in 47 states, NFF programs include the criteria, selection and induction of members of the College Football Hall of Fame; the Chick-fil-A College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta; Future For Football; The William V. Campbell Trophy®; the NFF National Scholar-Athlete Class Presented by Fidelity Investments; the NFF National High School Academic Excellence Awards presented by the Rose Bowl Legacy Foundation & Hatchell Cup presented by the Original Bob’s Steak & Chop House; and a series of programs and initiatives to honor the legends of the past and inspire the leaders of the future. NFF corporate partners include Catapult, Delta Air Lines, Fidelity Investments, Hanold Associates Executive Search, Jostens, the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, the New York Athletic Club, ,the Rose Bowl Legacy Foundation and the Sports Business Journal. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter @NFFNetwork and learn more at footballfoundation.org.

The National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame
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