November 2, 2009

University of Illinois press release

University of Illinois senior offensive guard Jon Asamoah has been named to the 16-man National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame's 2009 Scholar-Athlete class, and will vie for the William V. Campbell Trophy, endowed by HealthSouth.

Nominated by their schools, which are limited to one nominee each, 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. Selected by the NFF Awards Committee, the 16 National Scholar-Athlete Award recipients will be honored at the 2009 NFF Annual Awards Dinner December 8 at the Waldorf Astoria in New York City. The event will also include the induction of the 2009 College Football Hall of Fame and the presentation of several major awards.



Each finalist will receive an $18,000 post-graduate scholarship, and one of the 16 will be announced as the recipient of the 20th Anniversary William V. Campbell Trophy, endowed by HealthSouth (and formerly known as the Draddy Trophy), which recognizes an individual as the absolute best scholar- athlete in the nation. 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 award comes with a 25-pound bronze trophy and a $25,000 post- graduate scholarship. A total distribution of $300,000 in scholarships will be awarded that evening.

SCHOLAR-ATHLETE - POSITION - SCHOOL - GPA
Jon Asamoah - OG - University of Illinois - 3.82
MATT BAUMAN - LB - Brigham Young University - 3.91
ERIC DECKER - WR - University of Minnesota - 3.42
MOSES HARRIS - S - Fresno State - 3.56
TIM HILLER - QB - Western Michigan University - 4.00
PAUL JASINOWSKI - DT - Brown University - 3.70
BEAU KILDOW - WR - Morningside College (Iowa) - 4.00
JOSH MAHONEY - LB - University of Northern Iowa - 4.00
COLT McCOY - QB - University of Texas - 3.33
JARRELL NeSMITH - TE - Tusculum College (Tenn.) - 3.84
JOE PAWELEK - LB - Baylor University - 3.71
TODD REESING - QB - University of Kansas - 3.64
ZaVIOUS ROBBINS - WR - Hardin- Simmons University (Texas) - 3.90
TIM TEBOW - QB - University of Florida - 3.66
BLAINE WESTEMEYER - OT - Augustana College (Ill.) - 3.93
REED WILLIAMS - LB - West Virginia University - 3.86