Tim Tebow Wins 2009 William V. Campbell Trophy

The prolific Gators' quarterback now adds the nation's premier scholar-athlete award to his resume, as Florida becomes the first school in history to boast three Campbell Trophy winners.

NEW YORK, December 8, 2009 - University of Florida quarterback Tim Tebow, arguably one of the most decorated players in college football history, became the 20th recipient of the William V. Campbell Trophy, endowed by HealthSouth, at The National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame's Annual Awards Dinner in New York City tonight.

The Campbell Trophy (formerly known as the Draddy Trophy) is one of college football's most sought after and competitive awards, recognizing an individual as the absolute best in the country for his combined academic success, football performance and exemplary community leadership. The award comes with a 24-inch, 25-pound bronze trophy and a $25,000 postgraduate scholarship. A total of $300,000 was awarded to Tebow and the other 15 Campbell Trophy finalists, who each claimed $18,000 scholarships for their post-graduate educations.

"Tim Tebow is a once in a lifetime student-athlete," said NFF President & CEO Steven J. Hatchell. "Tim's unparalleled accomplishments and charisma have transcended the playing field, capturing the imagination of both young and old. We could not be prouder to have Tim as an ambassador of this award and our sport."

Boasting a 3.66 grade point average as a Family, Youth & Community Sciences major, Tebow has twice been named the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-American of the Year. Based on his combined scholastic achievement and campus involvement, Tebow also recently earned induction into the university's Hall of Fame, one of the most prestigious honors awarded to students by the Division of Student Affairs at the UF. The Jacksonville, Fla., native is a three-time member of the SEC Academic Honor Roll and a two-time First Team Academic All-American.

As the only sophomore to ever win the Heisman, Tebow boasts two national championship titles and has also won the Davey O'Brien National Quarterback Award, the Manning Award, back-to-back Maxwell awards in 2007 and '08, and the Sullivan Award, which is annually presented to the nation's top amateur athlete. As the undisputed leader of the nation's No. 5 team, he is the only player in NCAA history to rush and pass for at least 20 touchdowns in a season (2007) and entered his senior campaign with four NCAA, nine SEC and 23 school records. Tebow leads the Gators in both rushing and passing, accounting for more than 11,000 yards of total offense and 140 touchdowns in his career.

Tebow has spent nearly every summer of his life preaching the word of God around the country and participating in mission trips abroad. In 2009 alone, he has dedicated nearly 700 hours to community service efforts and appearances, including hospital and orphanage visits, and was named the 2008 Wuerffel Trophy recipient for his exemplary outreach.

Tebow joins former Campbell Trophy winners Brad Culpepper (1991) and Danny Wuerffel (1996) and three others as the sixth NFF National Scholar-Athlete from Florida.

Launched in 1959, the NFF scholar-athlete program became the first initiative in history to credit a player for both academic and athletic accomplishments. The centerpiece to the NFF's scholar-athlete program, which has awarded $9.2 million to 724 top athletes, the Campbell Trophy, first awarded in 1990, was renamed this fall in honor of Bill Campbell, the chairman of Intuit, former player and head coach at Columbia University and the 2004 recipient of the NFF's Gold Medal.

"The NFF mission is to build leaders through football, and the 2009 NFF National Scholar-Athlete class members stand as a testament to that creed," said NFF Chairman Archie Manning, whose sons Peyton (1997 Campbell Trophy winner) and Eli were NFF National Scholar-Athletes in 1997 and 2003, respectively. "We look forward to supporting the bright futures of each of these fine young men, and we take great pride in holding them out as examples of football's unique ability to build tomorrow's leaders."

Candidates must be a senior or graduate student in their final year of eligibility, have a grade point average of at least 3.2 on a 4.0 scale, have outstanding football ability as a first team player and have demonstrated strong leadership and citizenship.

The 2009 NFF National Scholar-Athlete Award Recipients and Campbell Trophy Finalists includes:

Jon Asamoah - OG, University of Illinois
Matt Bauman - LB, Brigham Young University
Eric Decker - WR, University of Minnesota
Moses Harris - S, Fresno State
Tim Hiller - QB, Western Michigan University
Paul Jasinowski - OT, Brown University
Beau Kildow - WR, Morningside College (Iowa)
Josh Mahoney - LB, University of Northern Iowa
Colt McCoy - QB, University of Texas
Jarrell NeSmith - TE, Tusculum College (Tenn.)
Joe Pawelek - LB, Baylor University
Todd Reesing - QB, University of Kansas
ZaVious Robbins - WR, Hardin-Simmons University (Texas)
Tim Tebow - QB, University of Florida
Blaine Westemeyer - OT, Augustana College (Ill.)
Reed Williams - LB, West Virginia

Listed in chronological order, past Campbell winners, counting two Rhodes Scholars, a Rhodes Scholar finalist, and a Heisman Trophy winner, include:

Chris Howard (Air Force, 1990 - College President)
John B. Culpepper (Florida, 1991 - Attorney)
Jim Hansen (Colorado, 1992 - Leader in Climatological Research)
Thomas Burns (Virginia, 1993 - Engineering Executive)
Robert Zatechka (Nebraska, 1994 - Physician)
Bobby Hoying (Ohio State, 1995 - Real Estate Executive)
Danny Wuerffel (Florida, 1996 - Nonprofit Executive Director)
Peyton Manning (Tennessee, 1997 - NFL Player)
Matt Stinchcomb (Georgia, 1998 - Television Broadcaster & Insurance Executive)
Chad Pennington (Marshall, 1999 - NFL Player)
Kyle Vanden Bosch (Nebraska, 2000 - NFL Player)
Joaquin Gonzalez (Miami, 2001 - Corporate Executive)
Brandon Roberts (Washington University in St. Louis, 2002 - Physician)
Craig Krenzel (Ohio State, 2003 - Insurance Executive)
Michael Munoz (Tennessee, 2004 - Marketing Manager)
Rudy Niswanger (Louisiana State University, 2005 - NFL Player)
Brian Leonard (Rutgers University, 2006 - NFL Player)
Dallas Griffin (University of Texas, 2007 - Corporate Finance Associate)
Alex Mack (University of California, 2008 - NFL Player)

Photo Courtesy of The National Football Foundation

Gophers vs. California: Summary & Analysis

By KENNY FRANEK

First Quarter:
The first quarter belonged to the Bears, as they recorded 159 yards of offense compared to the Gophers’ 39. Jahvid Best scored twice in the first quarter while rushing for 69 yards on just six carries. Penalties caused the Minnesota offense to stagnate; it wasn’t until the final drive of the quarter that the Gophers started clicking and Eric Decker began to get involved in the passing game.
Score: Cal 14, Gophers 0

Second Quarter:
Adam Weber got Minnesota on the board on the first play, hooking up with Decker who made an incredible catch while getting drilled by a Cal defender. Best answered later in the quarter with an impressive 27-yard touchdown run to put the Bears up 21-7. After a personal foul and a pass interference call, the Gophers had great field position with 1:11 left in the half. A few plays later, Weber found Decker again wide open in the end-zone for a twelve-yard score to cut the lead to 21-14. Even though the Bears dominated time of possession 12:03 to 2:57, the Gophers were able to make plays and build some momentum going into halftime.
Score: Cal 21, Gophers 14

Third Quarter:
The Gophers defense came out of the locker room firing on all cylinders. They held Best at bay and didn’t allow a single first-down to the Bears offense, holding them to 22 yards in the quarter. The Gophers showed their offense truly does run through Decker as he completed a seven-yard touchdown pass to freshman MarQueis Gray to tie the game at 21.
Score: Cal 21, Gophers 21

Fourth Quarter:
Things were looking up for the Gophers when they had the Bears pinned on their own 22 yard-line facing 3rd and 16. But Kevin Riley had other plans as he hooked up with Jeremy Ross for a 35-yard pass, keeping the drive alive. Five plays later, Best found the end-zone again for his fourth score of the day to put the Bears up for good, 28-21. Weber tried to make something happen on the very next play, but ended up throwing a crucial interception. That was that, as Best ended up adding another score to make it 35-21, ending the comeback attempt.
Final Score: Cal 35, Gophers 21

The Turning Point:
Facing a 3rd and 16 on their own 22 yard-line, Riley connected with receiver Ross for 35 yards to keep the drive going. Five plays later, Best punched in the decisive score.

Analysis:

Gophers coach Tim Brewster proved that he has turned this program around and has them heading in the right direction. They fought back numerous times against a good Cal football team and sent a message to the powers of the Big Ten that they aren’t to be taken lightly. Although Brewster was pleased with how his team played, he was disappointed that they didn’t find a way to come out with a victory.

“It’s hard. You know, you pour your heart and your soul into an effort…every player and every coach poured their heart and soul into this game and we weathered an early storm and our kids really showed some resilience and resolve," Brewster said following the game. "I’m extremely proud of our football team, the way that they competed against the #8 ranked team in the country. What I’m really disappointed in is that we didn’t find a way to win the game. We didn’t make the plays at the end of the game…we had opportunities on the defensive end, had some opportunities on the offensive end. When you’re playing a great opponent like we were playing today, the team that’s going to win is the team that makes the plays at the end of the football game.”

The score was not indicative of how the game was played. The Gophers fought hard and battled all game and seemed to answer every Cal score, but the lack of a ground game was too much to overcome in the end. They only managed 37 yards rushing which allowed the defense to put pressure on Weber the majority of the game. If the Gophers plan on contending against Ohio State and Penn State in the Big Ten, this needs to be corrected. Decker can only do so much on offense and the ground game needs to be there to take pressure of Weber when he drops back to pass.

On the other side of the ball, the stout Cal defense looked shaky against the pass, allowing 233 yards through the air. Decker was a one-man wrecking crew who had the challenge of going up against potential All-America corner Syd’Quan Thompson. He stepped up to the challenge, catching eight passes for 119 yards and two touchdowns and had Thompson scratching his head for most of the game. The Bears run defense bottled up the Gophers rushing attack, allowing them to blitz Weber and force him into mistakes which proved costly for the Gophers at the end of the game.

Best showed why he is considered the best running back in the country, rushing for 131 yards on 26 attempts and scoring five touchdowns. The Gophers shut down the Cal passing game for most of this contest and forced Best to beat them, which he did. Gopher linebacker Lee Campbell said this of Best, “He’s fast. He’s probably one of the fastest running backs I’ve ever played against. You just have to try and keep him corralled and you saw what happens when he gets to the outside.” He ran through and around the Gophers defense and was the reason the Bears won this football game.

It was a hard fought game for both teams and they both should be proud of the effort they put forth. For the Gophers, it’s about taking that next step to become a contender in the Big Ten. For Cal, it’s about shutting teams down when they have their foot on their throat.

Photos Courtesy of University of Minnesota Athletic Communications, University of California

Big Ten Week 1 Review: Signal Callers Driving Outcomes Early

By JOHN SEARS * BIG TEN INSIDER

As it stands, the Big Ten’s identity, or identity crisis, has recently been described politely as “smash-mouth” or impolitely as “slow”, “vanilla”, or “pig-wrestling in a corn field”. Last year further supported such monikers as only one quarterback passed for over 3,000 yards (Illinois Juice Williams with 3,173) or more than 20 touchdowns (Williams again with 22). Big Ten quarterbacks yielded only two members of the 1,000-yard receiving club (Minnesota’s Eric Decker with 1,074 yards, Illinois’ Arrelious Benn with 1,055). In contrast, six teams were represented by running backs that racked up at least 1,100 yards rushing, maxing out at 1,850 by Iowa’s Shonn Greene and 2,045 yards by Wisconsin’s tandem of P.J. Hill and John Clay. Five backs rushed for over ten touchdowns and two (Greene with 20 and Michigan State’s Javon Ringer with 22) hit pay dirt at least 20 times. Let’s just call 2008 a year that slanted toward the run. Fair enough?

Check opening day, 2009, for these same teams and you will find that quarterbacks are taking center stage in piling up notable statistics and more importantly, driving their team’s success. Against modest opponents to be sure, but the quarterbacks showed they may be destined take the spotlight off of Big Ten running backs. Consider: Michigan State rolled out unproven quarterbacks that just so happened to combine for 318 yards, five touchdowns, and zero interceptions (Keith Nichol: 9/18, 135 yards, 2 touchdowns, Kirk Cousins: 10/17, 183, 3) in a 44-3 drubbing of Montana State. The Spartans seem to have a most delightful quarterback controversy to start the season, but the maize and blue also swapped out a pair of freshmen who dazzled in complementary fashions. Tate Forcier, in what amounted to a half a game, completed 65 percent of his passes (13/20) for 179 yards, three scores, and no giveaways. Dernard Robinson, on the other hand, scored by fleeted foot, seemingly (un)tied to an ACME rocket as he scorched the Western Michigan defense on a 42-yard quarterback keeper. Michigan trounced the Broncos, 31-7.

And let’s not forget that the leader of last year’s conference champs, Penn State’s Daryll Clark, has returned for one final go-around. Despite losing his dominant receiving trio of 2008, Clark played well in a breezy win against Akron (31-7) in the presence of a sluggish running game, tossing the pigskin for 353 yards, three touchdowns and an interception. Even the perennial ground-grinders in Madison managed 281 yards throwing (Scott Tulzien 15/20, 257 yards, one touchdown, two interceptions) in their opening 28-20 win over Northern Illinois. Indiana’s Ben Chappell did eclipse 300 yards (27/36, 326 yards, one touchdown, two interceptions) in a sleepy victory over Eastern Kentucky 19-13.

Iowa’s Ricky Stanzi (242 yards) and Minnesota’s Adam Weber (248 yards), in pedestrian performances in sloppy wins over Northern Iowa and Syracuse respectively, still managed almost 250 yards through the air and one touchdown apiece. Northwestern pieced together 264 yards through the air and a score between Mike Kafka and Dan Persa in a 47-14 runaway victory over Towson. And Joey Elliott of Purdue showed magnificent technique handing the ball off 36 times for 320 yards, mostly to Ralph Bolden (21-234, two touchdowns). When needed, Elliott also tossed three touchdowns in a score-fest 52-31 victory over Toledo. All this success by Big Ten quarterbacks without mentioning the two (Williams, Ohio State’s Terrelle Pryor) picked to be top performers and potential award winners at season’s end? Pryor, in a too-close-for-comfort win over Navy, combined for 204 yards and two scores…but it would have been nice to see him go without an interception on opening day with a Trojan invasion coming quickly. Williams, with the potential excuse that his number one target (Benn) and running back (Jason Ford) were unavailable for the second half, struggled to combine for 206 yards and one interception in a disappointing loss to Missouri, 37-9.

I am confident Williams and Pryor will improve upon their numbers last week and provide game-changing abilities week-in and week-out in the coming months. What’s more intriguing are the abilities shown by the rest of the conference’s gunslingers. Can the signal callers help the conference turn the corner offensively with some high octane, or will the Big Ten still be sitting around in the pig pen asking, “Who’s next?” come season’s end?

Photos Courtesy of University of Minnesota Athletic Communications, Iowa Sports Information

Big Ten - Best 1-2 Punch: Offense

By JOHN SEARS - BIG TEN INSIDER

5. Adam Weber to Eric Decker (Minnesota): Decker was on top of the conference in receptions (76) and second in touchdowns (6) and yards (925). The two combined to catalyze their offense’s early season success, which suffered once Decker went down with an ankle injury. In the last two years, this tandem has connected for 143 receptions 1,834 yards and 15 touchdowns and will have one more year together.

4. Greg Orton and Desmond Tardy [and Keith Smith] (Purdue): Orton (69 receptions, 720 yards, five touchdowns) and Tardy (67 receptions, 876 yards, five touchdowns) combined for 136 catches for 1,596 yards and 10 touchdowns. Throw in Keith Smith as a third option (49 receptions, 486 yards, two touchdowns) and you have a trio that was as good or arguably better statistically as Penn State’s Big Three.

3. Evan Royster and Derrick Williams (Penn State): These teammates finished in the top ten in all-purpose yards combining for 2,689 yards, 19 total touchdowns, and big contributions to the Spread HD. Land, air or sea, Royster and Williams helped catalyze the conference’s best scoring and total offenses.

2. Juice Williams and Daniel Dufrene (Illinois): Williams had a splendid year in total yards accumulated with 3,892 (3,173 passing). But he (719 yards, five touchdowns) and Dufrene (663 yards) hold the 8th and 9th spots as Big Ten rushing leaders. Altogether you have 4,555 yards between the two.

1. P.J. Hill and John Clay (Wisconsin): The quintessential 1-2 punch in the backfield. Hill finished sixth in yards (1,021) and fourth in touchdowns (12) while Clay, as a freshman, finished seventh in yards (845) and eighth in touchdowns (9). That’s 1,866 yards and 21 touchdowns combined. And both are likely to be back next year.

Tomorrow: Best 1-2 Punch: Defense

Photo Credit: University of Minnesota Athletic Communications

Big Ten - Best Single-Game Performances

By JOHN SEARS - BIG TEN INSIDER

6. Eric Decker (Minnesota) against Indiana: 13 receptions and 190 yards, both conference season highs. (For Michigan and Illinois: lucky we are excluding non-Big Ten opponents for best receiving performances).

5. K.C. Lopata (Michigan) against Minnesota: five field goals and two PATs gave the Michigan man 17 points single-handedly. Minnesota finished with one-third (6) of the total output by Lopata in a lopsided victory for Michigan (?!) for the Little Brown Jug. Did that really happen?

4. Juice Williams (Illinois) against Michigan: Williams single-handedly brought down the [Big] House with a stadium record of 431 total yards of total offense and four touchdowns, only to be out-done next week by…

3. Juice Williams (Illinois) against Minnesota: This time, Williams accounted for a whopping 503 yards of offense (conference high)--462 passing (also conference high) and 41 rushing. That’s 924 yards and six touchdowns in two weeks. Unfortunately, these great numbers came in a losing effort.

2. Shonn Greene (Iowa) against Wisconsin: 217 yards and four touchdowns in by far and away his best performance of an already celebrated, accomplished season. He accumulated at least 100 yards rushing in every game, and finished with a second-best 17 touchdowns.

1. Daryll Clark (Penn State) against Michigan State: When all the Big Ten marbles and a ticket to Pasadena were at stake, Clark achieved personal season bests for yards/attempt (13.1), rating (222.5), yards (341) and touchdowns (five).

Tomorrow: Best Video Game Performance (Performances that can only be believed if they were played out on a controller with too many buttons)

Photo Credit: Illinois Sports Information