Anders Carlson named finalist for 2022 William V. Campbell Trophy

IRVING, Texas (Oct. 26, 2022) – The National Football Foundation (NFF) & College Hall of Fame announced today the finalists for the 2022 William V. Campbell Trophy®, college football's premier scholar-athlete award that annually recognizes an individual as the absolute best in the nation for his combined academic success, football performance and exemplary leadership. The 15 finalists will each receive an $18,000 postgraduate scholarship as a member of the 2022 NFF National Scholar-Athlete Class Presented by Fidelity Investments®:

• Jack Campbell, LB – Iowa (3.49 GPA - Enterprise Leadership)

• Anders Carlson, PK – Auburn (3.92 GPA - Professional Flight Management)

• Jake Chisholm, RB – Dayton (3.98 GPA - Pre-Medicine)

• Nicholas D'Ambrose, RB – Chicago [IL] (3.69 GPA - Neuroscience)

• Ryan Greenhagen, LB – Fordham (3.85 GPA - Business Administration)

• Oso Ifesinachukwu, DL – Yale (3.67 GPA - Biomedical Engineering)

• Ahofitu Maka, OL – UTSA (3.78 GPA - Cyber Security)

• Adrian Martinez, QB – Kansas State (3.55 GPA - Management)

• Peter Oliver, RB – Holy Cross (3.95 GPA - Chemistry & Spanish)

• Walter Rouse, OT – Stanford (3.52 GPA - Biomechanical Engineering)

• Austin Stidham, OL – Troy (3.92 GPA - Biomedical Sciences)

• Julius Wilkerson, LB – Wayne State [MI] (3.85 GPA - Psychology)

• Austin Williams, WR – Mississippi State (4.00 GPA - Business Administration)

• JR Woods, OL – Johns Hopkins [MD] (3.65 GPA - Economics)

• Michael Wozniak, DL – Saint John's [MN] (3.86 GPA - Accounting)

The 15 finalists were selected from an impressive list of 156 semifinalists nationwide from among all NCAA divisions and the NAIA.

The finalists will travel to Bellagio Resort & Casino in Las Vegas for the 64th NFF Annual Awards Dinner Presented by Las Vegas on Dec. 6, where their accomplishments will be highlighted in front of one of the most powerful audiences in all of sports.

Submitted by their schools, which are limited to one nominee each, candidates for the Campbell Trophy®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.

2022 NFF Campbell Trophy® Finalists Highlights

• 3.78 Average GPA

• 1 player with a perfect 4.00 GPA (Williams)

• 11 captains, including 1 four-year captain (Martinez), 1 three-year captain (Wilkerson) and 3 two-year captains (Chisholm, D'Ambrose, Williams)

• 6 players who have already graduated (Carlson, Greenhagen, Maka, Martinez, Stidham, Williams), including 2 with master's degrees (Carlson, Williams)

• 8 Academic All-America selections (Carlson-2x, Chisholm-3x, D'Ambrose, Greenhagen-2x, Stidham-2x, Williams-2x, Woods, Wozniak)

• 14 Academic All-Conference athletes (Campbell, Carlson, Chisholm, D'Ambrose, Greenhagen, Maka, Martinez, Oliver, Rouse, Stidham, Wilkerson, Williams, Woods, Wozniak)

• 9 All-America performers (Campbell, Carlson, Chisholm, D'Ambrose, Greenhagen, Martinez, Rouse, Woods, Wozniak)

• 13 All-Conference selections (Campbell, Carlson, Chisholm, D'Ambrose, Greenhagen, Maka, Martinez, Oliver, Rouse, Stidham, Wilkerson, Woods, Wozniak)

• 5 members of conference championship teams (Ifesinachukwu, Maka, Oliver-3x, Woods, Wozniak-2x)

• 3 players who become their school's first NFF National Scholar-Athlete (D'Ambrose, Greenhagen, Wilkerson)

• 4 school record holders (Chisholm, D'Ambrose, Greenhagen, Martinez)

• 8 members of postseason teams (FBS Bowl Games – Campbell-3x, Carlson-4x, Maka-2x, Stidham, Williams-4x; FCS Playoffs – Oliver-3x; Division III Playoffs – Woods, Wozniak-3x)

• 5 members of currently ranked teams (Greenhagen, Martinez, Oliver, Woods, Wozniak)

• 9 Offensive Players (Chisholm, D'Ambrose, Maka, Martinez, Oliver, Rouse, Stidham, Williams, Woods)

• 5 Defensive Players (Campbell, Greenhagen, Ifesinachukwu, Wilkerson, Wozniak)

• 1 Special Teams Player (Carlson)

Anders Carlson, PK – Auburn University

3.92 GPA – Professional Flight Management

Head Coach: Bryan Harsin | Interim Athletics Director: Rich McGlynn

Faculty Athletics Representative: Dr. Beverly Marshall

Just the second two-time Academic All-American in Auburn football history, Anders Carlson has already earned his MBA while excelling as an All-America kicker. The Colorado Springs, Colorado, native becomes the Tigers' fifth NFF National Scholar-Athlete.

After graduating summa cum laude with a 3.92 GPA in professional flight management in 2020, Carlson earned his MBA in December 2021 with a perfect 4.0 GPA while also earning a graduate certificate in cybersecurity management. A two-time First Team Academic All-American, he is also a two-time First Team Academic All-District honoree. The 1A FAR Academic Excellence Award recipient was an Academic Top Tiger and a member of the SEC Academic honor roll.

This season, Carlson leads the team in scoring with 42 points after connecting on 80% (8-10) of his field goals and 100% of his PATs (18-18). The game captain also handles kickoffs for the Tigers, averaging 63.1 yards per kick with 12 touchbacks.

In 2020, Carlson was named a Second Team All-American and a First Team All-SEC selection after connecting on 90% of his field goals. He helped the Tigers to a No. 14 national ranking in 2019 as well as four-straight postseason appearances, including a win in the 2018 Music City Bowl. Carlson ranks second all-time at Auburn in scoring (394) and made field goals (75), sitting behind his brother Daniel, a 2017 Campbell Trophy® semifinalist. Those marks are also good for sixth and eighth in SEC history, respectively.

With plans to be a full-time pilot in the future, Carlson was accepted into the Delta Propel program, which provides an accelerated path to achieve the necessary qualifications to become a Delta Air Lines pilot. The 2022 AFCA Good Works Team member has volunteered with numerous organizations, including Mercy Me Medical, Bridge Builders and Church of the Highlands Dream Center, a mobile recreation center for low-income neighborhoods. He also went on a mission trip to the Dominican Republic with the Fellowship of Christian Athletes.

Following the 64th NFF Annual Awards Dinner Presented by Las Vegas, the recipient of the 2022 Campbell Trophy® will be honored at several other prestigious events. On Thursday, Dec. 8, he will be interviewed live during the "The Home Depot College Football Awards" on ESPN. Then on Monday, Dec. 12, a reception will be held in his honor at the New York Athletic Club (NYAC), the official home of the trophy since 2013. Finally, he will travel to Los Angeles to be honored on the field during the College Football Playoff National Championship at SoFi Stadium on Jan. 9.

Launched in 1959, the NFF National Scholar-Athlete Awards Presented by Fidelity Investments celebrate their 64th year in 2022. The awards were the first initiative in history to grant postgraduate scholarships based on both a player's academic and athletic accomplishments. Since 2011, Fidelity Investments, a leading provider of workplace savings plans in higher education, has served as the presenting sponsor of the NFF National Scholar-Athlete Awards.

As part of its support of the NFF National Scholar-Athlete Awards, Fidelity Investments helped launch the NFF Faculty Salutes, which recognize the contributions of the faculty athletics representatives at each of the institutions with a finalist for the Campbell Trophy®. The NFF presents each of the faculty athletics representatives with a plaque and Fidelity donates $5,000 for the academic support services at each school. The salutes have recognized 167 FARs since the program's inception, and Fidelity has made a total of $830,000 (including $75,000 this year) in donations.

Including the 2022 Campbell Trophy® finalists, the NFF has honored 906 individuals with National Scholar-Athlete Awards, and this year's postgraduate scholarships will push the program's all-time distribution to more than $12.3 million. The honorees have used the financial support to earn more than 175 medical degrees, 100 law degrees, 80 MBAs and 43 PhDs. Continuing their excellence on the field, more than 260 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 and six Heisman Trophy winners.

The members of this year's class find themselves among some of the most elite student-athletes in the history of the game, including celebrated actor and 2019 NFF Gold Medal recipient Mark Harmon (UCLA); Arizona Cardinals head coach Kliff Kingsbury (Texas Tech); Wisconsin interim head coach Jim Leonhard (Wisconsin); and NASA astronauts Michael Hopkins (Illinois) and Leland Melvin (Richmond). NFF National Scholar-Athletes who became NFL stalwarts include Tiki Barber, Drew Brees, Derek Carr, Kirk Cousins, Doug Flutie, Joey Galloway, Justin Herbert, Bradie James, Tyler Lockett, Alex Mack, Eli Manning, Johnny Musso, Chad Pennington, Joe Thomas, Jonathan Vilma, Wesley Walls and Christian Wilkins.

The Campbell Trophy® was first awarded in 1990, adding to the program's prestige. Past recipients include two Rhodes Scholars, a Rhodes Scholar finalist, two Heisman Trophy winners and seven first-round NFL draft picks.

The past recipients of the Campbell Trophy® include:

1990 – Chris Howard (Air Force)

1991 – Brad Culpepper (Florida)

1992 – Jim Hansen (Colorado)

1993 – Thomas Burns (Virginia)

1994 – Rob Zatechka (Nebraska)

1995 – Bobby Hoying (Ohio State)

1996 – Danny Wuerffel (Florida)

1997 – Peyton Manning (Tennessee)

1998 – Matt Stinchcomb (Georgia)

1999 – Chad Pennington (Marshall)

2000 – Kyle Vanden Bosch (Nebraska)

2001 – Joaquin Gonzalez (Miami [FL])

2002 – Brandon Roberts (Washington U. in St. Louis [MO])

2003 – Craig Krenzel (Ohio State)

2004 – Michael Munoz (Tennessee)

2005 – Rudy Niswanger (LSU)

2006 – Brian Leonard (Rutgers)

2007 – Dallas Griffin (Texas)

2008 – Alex Mack (California)

2009 – Tim Tebow (Florida)

2010 – Sam Acho (Texas)

2011 – Andrew Rodriguez (Army West Point)

2012 – Barrett Jones (Alabama)

2013 – John Urschel (Penn State)

2014 – David Helton (Duke)

2015 – Ty Darlington (Oklahoma)

2016 – Zach Terrell (Western Michigan)

2017 – Micah Kiser (Virginia)

2018 – Christian Wilkins (Clemson)

2019 – Justin Herbert (Oregon)

2020 – Brady White (Memphis)

2021 – Charlie Kolar (Iowa State)