Tusculum's NeSmith Campbell Trophy semifinalist

Tusculum College tight end Jarrell NeSmith has been named a semifinalist for the 20th anniversary William V. Campbell Trophy presented by the National Football Foundation.

In addition to his semifinalist candidacy for the Campbell Trophy (previously known as the Draddy Trophy), NeSmith is also eligible for the 2009 NFF Scholar-Athlete Award. A total of 154 semifinalists were announced; 15 football student-athletes from NCAA Division II made the list, with three of those from the South Atlantic Conference, including NeSmith, Ryan Webber (Wingate University) and Brandon Gantt (Newberry College).

NeSmith, a 6-2, 215-pound senior from Russellville, Ala., has a 3.86 cumulative grade point average as a Pre-Medicine major. Last season, he was named the recipient of the South Atlantic Conference Presidents' Award, which recognizes achievement in academics, athletics, community service and leadership. It is considered the most prestigious award presented by the conference.

NeSmith was named the SAC Scholar Athlete for Football for a second consecutive year last season and was tabbed to the 2008 ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America® College Division Football Team last fall.

NeSmith was named an All-Conference First Team selection at tight end and caught 67 passes for 635 yards and seven touchdowns last year. His catch tally was the third-best in school history and he ranked second in the league in receptions per game. NeSmith was named to the Associated Press Little All-America Team, the Daktronics Division II All-America Team, the D2Football.com All-America Team and the Football Gazette All-America Team.

He helped lead the Pioneers to a 9-4 record and the 2008 South Atlantic Conference Championship. The nine wins matched a school single-season record, while earning the program its first NCAA Division II Playoff berth. Tusculum advanced to the regional semifinal round and finished the season ranked No. 16 in the nation.

NeSmith earned the 2006-07 Duffield Award, presented to the Tusculum male student-athlete with the highest GPA and was the 2005-06 Tusculum Academic Freshman of the Year. He is a member of the SAC Commissioner's Honor Roll and the Tusculum Athletic Director's Honor Roll. He is a member of the Dean's List, President's List and Charles Oliver Gray Honors List. He was named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District IV team for a second year in a row.

In the community, NeSmith has volunteered with Habitat for Humanity, Adopt-a-Highway and Drug Awareness program at Holston Homes for Children in Greeneville, Tenn. He also volunteers with the Lunch Buddies program at Doak Elementary School, which provides mentoring relationships between the Tusculum football players and the school children. He has spoken to youth and high school students on the importance of education and college life at South Greene High School in Greeneville and at the Chucky Mullins Center in Oxford, Miss.

Semifinalists are nominated by their sports information directors. Semifinalists must be a senior or graduate student in their final year of eligibility, have a 3.2 GPA (or better), have outstanding football ability as a first team player or significant contributor and have demonstrated strong leadership and citizenship.

The William V. Campbell Trophy was renamed this fall in honor of Bill Campbell. A learned scholar and accomplished athlete, Campbell is the chairman of Intuit and former player and head coach at Columbia University. He is the 2004 recipient of the NFF's Gold Medal. The 2009 William V. Campbell Trophy award winner receives a 25-pound bronze trophy and a $25,000 post-graduate scholarship.

The NFF Awards Committee will select and announce up to 15 finalists on Oct. 29. Each finalist will be recognized as part of the 2009 NFF National Scholar-Athlete Class, receiving an $18,000 post-graduate scholarship. The Campbell Trophy winner will have his scholarship increased to $25,000. The winners will be announced live at the NFF's Annual Awards Dinner on December 8 at the prestigious Waldorf-Astoria in New York City. A total distribution of $277,000 in scholarships will be awarded during this significant evening.

"On the heels of our recent announcement to rename our top scholar-athlete award in honor of Bill Campbell, we are incredibly proud to select the next winner from this remarkable group of semifinalists," NFF Chairman Archie Manning says. The NFL Hall of Famer should know, as Archie Manning's sons Peyton (1997 Campbell Trophy winner) and Eli were named NFF National Scholar-Athletes in 1997 and 2003, respectively.

"As one of the nation's most influential business leaders, Bill Campbell is a powerful example of football's unique ability to build leadership qualities in our young people," Archie Manning adds. "The semifinalists for the Campbell Trophy have already built track records that place them squarely in his footsteps."

"The Campbell Trophy semifinalists represent everything great about college football, having achieved excellence in all aspects of their lives," NFF President & CEO Steven J. Hatchell says. "It is the NFF's duty to promote their accomplishments while encouraging future generations of gridiron standouts to aim high on and off the football field."

Launched in 1959, the NFF scholar-athlete program became the first initiative in history to award post-graduate scholarships based on both a player's academic and athletic accomplishments. The William V. Campbell Trophy, first awarded in 1990, adds to the program's mystique, having previously honored two Rhodes Scholars, a Rhodes Scholar finalist and a Heisman winner. The University of California's Alex Mack, a first-round draft pick of the Cleveland Browns, was named the 2008 Campbell Trophy recipient.

In addition to the Manning brothers, notable NFF National Scholar-Athlete alumni include NFL standout Derrick Brooks (Florida State); actor Mark Harmon (UCLA); NASA astronaut Leland Melvin (Richmond); former Dateline NBC anchor Stone Phillips (Yale); chairman of Augusta National Golf Club Billy Payne (Georgia); famed NFL quarterback Steve Young (BYU); and Heisman Trophy winners Terry Baker (Oregon State), Gary Beban (UCLA); Doug Flutie (Boston College) and Danny Wuerffel (Florida).