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Brandner Named NFF University Scholar Athlete
4/24/2018 8:00:00 PM | Football
DURHAM, N.C. – Former Duke football offensive tackle Gabe Brandner was named the recipient of the University Scholar Athlete award by the National Football Foundation (NFF) and College Hall of Fame, Inc., presented at the Bill Dooley Triangle East Chapter of North Carolina annual awards dinner held Tuesday at N.C. State.
Brandner, a Blythewood, S.C., product, received four letters and a pair of CoSIDA First Team Academic All-District III accolades. He appeared in 41 career games and started the last 36 at left tackle. His play helped Duke to 28 wins over four seasons, three bowl game appearances (2014 Hyundai Sun, 2015 New Era Pinstripe Bowl and 2017 Quick Lane Bowl) and two bowl victories. He is one of just 13 Blue Devils in program history to play in two bowl wins, helping Duke capture the 2015 New Era Pinstripe Bowl and 2017 Quick Lane Bowl and one of just three to start both bowl victories, joining linebacker Ben Humphreys and wide receiver T.J. Rahming.
On the field in 2017, Brandner was a member of an offensive front that helped Duke close the year as one of six ACC teams to compile 2,200 or more rushing yards and 2,700 or more passing yards, joining Clemson, Louisville, N.C. State, Virginia Tech and Wake Forest. He helped the Blue Devils rank tied for fourth in fewest sacks allowed per game and fifth in first downs per game in the ACC in league action. He helped open holes for a Duke rushing attack that featured three players with 500 or more ground yards for the first time in school history (Shaun Wilson — 818, Brittain Brown — 701 & Daniel Jones — 518) as the trio combined for 2,037 yards and 20 rushing touchdowns.
For his work in the classroom and within the community, Brandner was the recipient of a 2018 ACC Weaver-James-Corrigan Award, a postgraduate scholarship worth $5,000. Brandner was also named to the Allstate AFCA Good Works Team for excellence in community service during 2017 season. During his final year with the program he was selected as a semifinalist for the Wuerffel Trophy and William V. Campbell Trophy.
Other 2018 University Scholar Athlete award recipients for the Bill Dooley Triangle East Chapter of North Carolina included Austin Teague of East Carolina, Bentley Spain of North Carolina, Nicholas Leverett of N.C. Central and AJ Cole, III of N.C. State.
Past Duke winners of the University Scholar Athlete honor include Charles London (1997), Jeff Hodrick (1998), Lennie Friedman (1999), Sims Lenhardt (2000), Spencer Romine (2001), Ben Erdeljac (2002), Jaymon Small (2003), Chris Douglas (2004), Giuseppe Aguanno (2005), Brendan Dewan (2006), Eli Nichols (2007), Patrick Bailey (2008), Ryan Wood (2009), Brett Huffman (2010), Vincent Rey (2010), Bryan Morgan (2011), Matt Daniels (2012), Sean Renfree (2013), Perry Simmons (2014), David Helton (2015), Ross Martin (2016), DeVon Edwards (2017) and A.J. Wolf (2017).
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