Clemson's Christian Wilkins Named Campbell Trophy Finalists

GREENSBORO, N.C. (theACC.com) – NC State quarterback Ryan Finley and Clemson defensive tackle Christian Wilkins are among the 13 finalists for the 2018 William V. Campbell Trophy, which is presented annually by the National Football Foundation and the College Football Hall of Fame to the best football scholar-athlete in the nation.

This marks the third consecutive year that two ACC student-athlete have been finalists for the NFF’s “Academic Heisman.” Virginia linebacker Micah Kiser won the award last season and is one of four previous winners from an ACC school.  

The 13 finalists will each receive an $18,000 postgraduate scholarship as a member of the 60th NFF National Scholar-Athlete Class, and they will travel to New York City for the 61st NFF Annual Awards Dinner on Tuesday, Dec. 4, where their accomplishments will be highlighted in front of one of the most powerful audiences in all of sports. At the event, one member of the class will be declared the winner of the 29th William V. Campbell Trophy and have his postgraduate scholarship increased to $25,000. The event, which will take place at the New York Hilton Midtown, will be live streamed on the ESPN app, starting at 8:30 p.m. ET. 

Nominated by their schools, which are limited to one nominee each, candidates for the Campbell Trophy and NFF National Scholar-Athlete 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.

Christian Wilkins, DL – Clemson University

Communication Studies – 3.33 GPA

Head Coach: Dabo Swinney | Athletics Director: Dan Radakovich

Faculty Athletics Representative: Janie Hodge

A two-time first-team All-American, Christian Wilkins also earned Academic All-ACC honors while guiding Clemson to its first national championship in 35 years. The Springfield, Massachusetts, native becomes the Tigers’ fourth NFF National Scholar-Athlete.

After graduating in December 2017 with a degree in communication studies, Wilkins became the first scholarship player in Clemson football history to finish school in two and a half years. He will graduate this December with a master’s in athletic leadership. In addition to being a three-time All-ACC Academic Team member, he received first-team Academic All-District honors in 2017. 

A two-year team captain, Wilkins has guided Clemson to a perfect 8-0 record (5-0 in conference) and a No. 2 national ranking in 2018. A semifinalist for the 2018 Bednarik Award, he has amassed 27 tackles on the season, including 6.5 tackles for loss. The standout defensive lineman is a quarterfinalist for the 2018 Lott IMPACT Trophy and also has two sacks, one forced fumble, and one fumble recovery to his name. On Oct. 27, he recorded the first rushing touchdown of his career on a one-yard run against Florida State. Wilkins leads a Clemson unit that tops the ACC and is tied for first in the nation in scoring defense, holding opponents to 13 points per game. The Tigers also sit second in the ACC and third in the nation in total defense, limiting offenses to 263.9 yards per game.

A three-year letterman, Wilkins made an immediate impact at Clemson, earning 2015 First Team Freshman All-America honors. A two-time All-ACC selection, he earned first-team honors in 2017 and second-team laurels in 2016. A finalist for the 2016 Nagurski Award, Wilkins was named the 2017 Willis Award recipient as the National Defensive Lineman of the Year by the Columbus (Ohio) Touchdown Club. Wilkins guided the Tigers to the 2016 national title, two College Football Playoff National Championship game appearances and three consecutive trips to the CFP Semifinals. In addition to winning three consecutive ACC titles, Wilkins helped Clemson finish the last three seasons ranked No. 2 (2015), No. 1 (2016) and No. 4 (2017).  

Making a difference off the field, Wilkins became a certified substitute teacher during the 2018 offseason, indicating that he wanted to provide inspiration and guidance to K-12 students. An avid volunteer, Wilkins has worked with Habitat for Humanity, the Clemson Miracle Fundraiser, Colleges Against Cancer Relay for Life and the “Kicks, Cleats, Kids” initiative. He has also taken part in the Taylor Elementary Visionary Leaders program.

The ACC boasts four past Campbell Trophy winners among its current member institutions. In addition to Virginia’s Kiser, Duke’s David Helton received the honor in 2014, Virginia’s Thomas Burns was recognized in 1993 and Miami’s Joaquin Gonzalez in 2001.

“We are extremely proud to announce the finalists for this year’s Campbell Trophy®, who make up the NFF National Scholar-Athlete Class,” said NFF President & CEO Steve Hatchell. “These young men have an unrelenting commitment to excellence in all aspects of their lives, and they represent all that is right in college football. They serve as living examples that Football Matters®, and we are excited to honor their hard work and accomplishments with postgraduate scholarships.” 

“The NFF Awards Committee did an excellent job in selecting this year’s National Scholar-Athletes,” said NFF Chairman Archie Manning, whose sons Peyton (Campbell Trophy® recipient) and Eli were NFF National Scholar-Athletes in 1997 and 2003, respectively. “Selected from an impressive group of semifinalists, they should be extremely proud of their accomplishments, as they have undoubtedly distinguished themselves as some of the best student-athletes in the country. Each of these men is also a leader in his respective community, and we know that they have only begun to reach their potential.”

The Campbell Trophy® is named in honor of the late Bill Campbell, the former chairman of Intuit, a 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 $7,000 increase in postgraduate funds for a total scholarship of $25,000. A total distribution of $241,000 in scholarships will be awarded Dec. 4, pushing the program’s all-time distributions to more than $11.5 million.

Following the NFF Annual Awards Dinner, the 2018 Campbell Trophy® recipient will be honored at several other prestigious events. On Wednesday, Dec. 5, the New York Athletic Club (NYAC) will host a luncheon in his honor. From there, he will travel directly to Atlanta for ESPN's The Home Depot College Football Awards at the Chick-fil-A College Football Hall of Fame on Thursday, Dec. 6, where he will be interviewed live during the show. Finally, he will travel to Santa Clara, California, to be honored on the field during the College Football Playoff National Championship at Levi’s® Stadium on Monday, Jan. 7.

The NFF National Scholar-Athlete program, launched in 1959, became the first initiative in history to award postgraduate scholarships for combined athletic, academic and leadership abilities. Including the 2018 recipients, the NFF has honored 854 individuals with National Scholar-Athlete Awards. The honorees have used the financial support to earn more than 150 medical degrees, 100 law degrees, 80 MBAs and 43 PhDs. Continuing their excellence on the field, more than 200 recipients have played in the NFL with an average career of six seasons or double the length of a typical NFL player. Past recipients also include 13 Rhodes Scholars.

The Campbell Trophy®, first awarded in 1990, adds to the NFF National Scholar-Athlete program's prestige, having previously honored two Rhodes Scholars, a Rhodes Scholar finalist, two Heisman Trophy winners and five first-round NFL draft picks. The past recipients of The William V. Campbell Trophy® include: Air Force's Chris Howard (1990); Florida's Brad Culpepper (1991); Colorado's Jim Hansen (1992); Virginia's Thomas Burns (1993); Nebraska's Robert Zatechka (1994); Ohio State's Bobby Hoying (1995); Florida's Danny Wuerffel (1996); Tennessee's Peyton Manning (1997); Georgia's Matt Stinchcomb (1998); Marshall's Chad Pennington (1999); Nebraska's Kyle Vanden Bosch (2000); Miami (Fla.)'s Joaquin Gonzalez (2001); Washington University in St. Louis (Mo.)'s Brandon Roberts (2002); Ohio State's Craig Krenzel (2003); Tennessee's Michael Muñoz (2004); LSU's Rudy Niswanger (2005); Rutgers' Brian Leonard (2006); Texas' Dallas Griffin (2007); California's Alex Mack (2008); Florida's Tim Tebow (2009); Texas' Sam Acho (2010); Army West Point's Andrew Rodriguez (2011); Alabama's Barrett Jones (2012); Penn State's John Urschel (2013); Duke's David Helton (2014); Oklahoma's Ty Darlington (2015); Western Michigan's Zach Terrell (2016); and Virginia's Micah Kiser (2017).

Fidelity Investments, a leading provider of workplace savings plans in higher education, serves as a proud partner of the Campbell Trophy® and the NFF National Scholar-Athlete Awards. Since 2013, the Campbell Trophy® has been prominently displayed inside its official home at the New York Athletic Club.

As part of its support of the NFF’s scholarship programs, Fidelity Investments helped launch the NFF Faculty Salutes, which recognize the contributions of the faculty athletics representatives at each of the institutions with a Campbell Trophy® finalist. The NFF Faculty Salutes include the NFF presenting each of the faculty representatives with a plaque and Fidelity donating $5,000 for the academic support services at each school. The salutes have recognized 115 FARs since the program’s inception, and Fidelity has made a total of $570,000 (including $65,000 this year) in donations.

Selected from a nationwide pool of 179 exceptional semifinalists from among all NCAA divisions and the NAIA, the 13 finalists are:

SCHOLAR-ATHLETE POSITION SCHOOL GPA MAJOR

Kenneth Brinson LB Army West Point 3.96 Chemical Engineering

Taryn Christion QB South Dakota State 3.61 Business Economics

De’Arius Christmas LB Grambling State 3.82 Engineering Technology

D’Cota Dixon S Wisconsin 3.32 Rehabilitation Psychology

Ryan Finley QB North Carolina State 3.76 Psychology

Piercen Harnish LB Saint Francis (Ind.) 3.96 Finance

Trace McSorley QB Penn State 3.31 Accounting

Dalton Risner OL Kansas State 3.60 Communication Studies

Max Scharping OL Northern Illinois 3.99 Kinesiology

Eric Stevenson LB Wheaton (Ill.) 3.83 Economics

Easton Stick QB North Dakota State 3.92 Sport Management

Drue Tranquill LB Notre Dame 3.73 Mechanical Engineering

Christian Wilkins DL Clemson 3.33 Communication Studies