Photo by: Joshua Armstrong
Wuerffel Trophy Announces 2019 Semifinalists
11/5/2019 9:55:00 AM | Football
Air Force senior Isaiah Sanders one of nine named for College Football's Top Community Service Award
FORT WALTON BEACH, Fla. – November 5, 2019 - The Wuerffel Trophy, presented by the Chick-fil-A® Foundation, announced today its semifinalists for the 2019 Wuerffel Trophy.
Air Force senior quarterback Isaiah Sanders is one of the nine semifinalists. He has been active in the football team as a motivational leaders while starting games each of the last two seasons. He serves as the team's community service representative, and has helped coordinate and participate in a service event where team members fix up a playground for a local childcare organization. He has also served as the cadet-in-charge of our Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) group, which has reached up to approximately 50-60 cadets in attendance and meets weekly, by helping plan events and run weekly meetings.
Sanders is also the vice president of Undivided, a non-profit that focuses on strengthening communities and on helping community members create positive change in their spheres of influence. He has gone out in the community, whether at local high schools' FCA events, retreats, or the Academy's SPIRE groups, and performed personal spoken word pieces and/or presented biblically-related messages for an estimated 1,000-plus people within the past two years. He was also the keynote/featured speaker at a retreat for high schoolers looking to go deeper in their faith.
The Wuerffel Trophy, known as "College Football's Premier Award for Community Service," is presented annually to the Football Bowl Subdivision player who best combines exemplary community service with athletic and academic achievement. Named after 1996 Heisman Trophy winning quarterback, Danny Wuerffel, from the University of Florida, the Wuerffel Trophy has honored over 1,200 nominees since its inception in 2005.
"Once again this year demonstrates how many first-class young men are out there doing tremendous work in their communities," said Danny Wuerffel. "It was an extremely difficult job that we had narrowing the list down to only nine semifinalists. These men represent the best of the best."
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 2019 Wuerffel Trophy semifinalists are listed alphabetically by university:
Derrick Brown, Auburn University, senior, defensive line
Koby Quansah, Duke University, senior, linebacker
Blake Ferguson, Louisiana State University, senior, long snapper
Braden Mann, Texas A&M University, senior, punter
Isaiah Sanders, United States Air Force Academy, senior, quarterback
Rodrigo Blankenship, University of Georgia, senior, kicker
Teton Saltes, University of New Mexico, junior, offensive line
Sam Ehlinger, University of Texas, junior, quarterback
Jon Wassink, Western Michigan University, senior, quarterback
Nominations for the Wuerffel Trophy are made by the respective university Sports Information departments and closed on Oct. 15, 2019. Finalists for the award will be announced on Nov. 18, 2019. The formal announcement of the 2019 Wuerffel Trophy recipient is scheduled to be made on Dec. 10, 2019 at the National Football Foundation's festivities in New York City.
The 2019 Wuerffel Trophy winner will be invited to attend The Home Depot College Football Awards Red Carpet Show on ESPNU and ESPN3 on Dec. 12, 2019, 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 Chick-fil-A College Football Hall of Fame and Chick-fil-A Fan Experience in downtown Atlanta, Georgia. The presentation of the 2019 Wuerffel Trophy will occur at the 51st Annual All Sports Association Awards Banquet on Feb. 7, 2020 in Fort Walton Beach.
Past winners of the Wuerffel Trophy are: 2018 Drue Tranquill, University of Notre Dame; 2017 Courtney Love, University of Kentucky; 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 presented by the Chick-fil-A Foundation, the corporate foundation of Chick-fil-A, Inc. A not-for-profit organization, the Foundation's purpose is to lead the company's commitment to support youth and education in Chick-fil-A's local communities. The Foundation's work is focused on developing and educating young people so they can build a positive legacy and become all they can be. For more information, visit http://www.chick-fil-afoundation.org/.
The Wuerffel Trophy is also supported by its corporate partners, Dart Container Corporation/Solo Cup Company and Herff Jones.
The Wuerffel 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 25 awards boast more than 800 recipients, dating back to 1935. 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
Air Force senior quarterback Isaiah Sanders is one of the nine semifinalists. He has been active in the football team as a motivational leaders while starting games each of the last two seasons. He serves as the team's community service representative, and has helped coordinate and participate in a service event where team members fix up a playground for a local childcare organization. He has also served as the cadet-in-charge of our Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) group, which has reached up to approximately 50-60 cadets in attendance and meets weekly, by helping plan events and run weekly meetings.
Sanders is also the vice president of Undivided, a non-profit that focuses on strengthening communities and on helping community members create positive change in their spheres of influence. He has gone out in the community, whether at local high schools' FCA events, retreats, or the Academy's SPIRE groups, and performed personal spoken word pieces and/or presented biblically-related messages for an estimated 1,000-plus people within the past two years. He was also the keynote/featured speaker at a retreat for high schoolers looking to go deeper in their faith.
The Wuerffel Trophy, known as "College Football's Premier Award for Community Service," is presented annually to the Football Bowl Subdivision player who best combines exemplary community service with athletic and academic achievement. Named after 1996 Heisman Trophy winning quarterback, Danny Wuerffel, from the University of Florida, the Wuerffel Trophy has honored over 1,200 nominees since its inception in 2005.
"Once again this year demonstrates how many first-class young men are out there doing tremendous work in their communities," said Danny Wuerffel. "It was an extremely difficult job that we had narrowing the list down to only nine semifinalists. These men represent the best of the best."
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 2019 Wuerffel Trophy semifinalists are listed alphabetically by university:
Derrick Brown, Auburn University, senior, defensive line
Koby Quansah, Duke University, senior, linebacker
Blake Ferguson, Louisiana State University, senior, long snapper
Braden Mann, Texas A&M University, senior, punter
Isaiah Sanders, United States Air Force Academy, senior, quarterback
Rodrigo Blankenship, University of Georgia, senior, kicker
Teton Saltes, University of New Mexico, junior, offensive line
Sam Ehlinger, University of Texas, junior, quarterback
Jon Wassink, Western Michigan University, senior, quarterback
Nominations for the Wuerffel Trophy are made by the respective university Sports Information departments and closed on Oct. 15, 2019. Finalists for the award will be announced on Nov. 18, 2019. The formal announcement of the 2019 Wuerffel Trophy recipient is scheduled to be made on Dec. 10, 2019 at the National Football Foundation's festivities in New York City.
The 2019 Wuerffel Trophy winner will be invited to attend The Home Depot College Football Awards Red Carpet Show on ESPNU and ESPN3 on Dec. 12, 2019, 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 Chick-fil-A College Football Hall of Fame and Chick-fil-A Fan Experience in downtown Atlanta, Georgia. The presentation of the 2019 Wuerffel Trophy will occur at the 51st Annual All Sports Association Awards Banquet on Feb. 7, 2020 in Fort Walton Beach.
Past winners of the Wuerffel Trophy are: 2018 Drue Tranquill, University of Notre Dame; 2017 Courtney Love, University of Kentucky; 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 presented by the Chick-fil-A Foundation, the corporate foundation of Chick-fil-A, Inc. A not-for-profit organization, the Foundation's purpose is to lead the company's commitment to support youth and education in Chick-fil-A's local communities. The Foundation's work is focused on developing and educating young people so they can build a positive legacy and become all they can be. For more information, visit http://www.chick-fil-afoundation.org/.
The Wuerffel Trophy is also supported by its corporate partners, Dart Container Corporation/Solo Cup Company and Herff Jones.
The Wuerffel 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 25 awards boast more than 800 recipients, dating back to 1935. 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
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