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Humphreys a Semifinalist for 2018 Campbell Trophy
9/26/2018 11:15:00 AM | Football
IRVING, Texas – Duke senior linebacker Ben Humphreys has been named a semifinalist for the 2018 William V. Campbell Trophy, the National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame (NFF) announced Wednesday.
The award recognizes an individual as the absolute best in the country for his academic success, football performance and exemplary community leadership. The NFF will announce 12 to 14 finalists on Oct. 31, and each of them will receive an $18,000 postgraduate scholarship as a member of the 60th NFF National Scholar-Athlete Class. One of the finalists will be named the winner of The William V. Campbell Trophy® during the 61st NFF Annual Awards Dinner on December 4 in New York City, and his postgraduate scholarship will be increased to $25,000.
In December of 2014, Duke won the first William V. Campbell Trophy in program history as former linebacker David Helton took home the prestigious honor.
Humphreys, a 6-2, 225-pound Newport Beach, Calif., native has helped Duke's defense to a quick start in 2018 as the Blue Devils rank 16th nationally in scoring defense, yielding just 15.25 points per game. He has the Duke defense clicking, allowing just six points in second quarters this season and holding three foes to 20 or fewer points. Last week against N.C. Central, Humphreys and the Duke defense surrendered just eight yards of total offense in the second half.
In the classroom, Humphreys owns a 3.25 grade point average as a public policy studies major. He is also pursuing a minor in economics and certificate in markets and management. A two-time All-ACC Academic Football Team selection, Humphreys has also been placed on the ACC Academic Honor Roll twice.
Humphreys, a recipient of a Ronald McDonald House Heart of Gold Award, has been extremely involved with the local community, serving primarily with the Ronald McDonald House and Habitat for Humanity. Humphreys' House of Gold Award Honor is presented annually and recognizes leadership, service and generosity. Through the McDonald House, Humphreys started a relationship with Beckham Prescott, a five-year old boy suffering from Pelizaeus-Merzbacher Disease (PMD). From March-December 2016, Humphreys spent 20 or more hours a week with Prescott at the Ronald McDonald House participating in countless activities with Prescott and his family.
“These 179 impressive candidates truly represent the scholar-athlete ideal,” said NFF Chairman Archie Manning, whose sons Peyton (Campbell Trophy® winner) and Eli were named NFF National Scholar-Athletes in 1997 and 2003, respectively. “For 60 years, the NFF National Scholar-Athlete program has showcased more than 800 college football players who have been successful on the football field, in the classroom and in the community. This year's semifinalists further illustrate the power of our great sport in developing the next generation of influential leaders.”
Named in honor of the late Bill Campbell, former chairman of Intuit, former player and head coach at Columbia University and the 2004 recipient of the NFF's Gold Medal, the Campbell Trophy® is a 25-pound bronze trophy and increases the amount of the recipient's grant by $7,000 for a total postgraduate scholarship of $25,000. This year's postgraduate scholarships will push the program's all-time distribution to more than $11.5 million.
“The NFF would like to personally congratulate each of the nominees as well as their schools and coaches on their tremendous accomplishments,” said NFF President & CEO Steve Hatchell. “We are extremely proud to highlight each semifinalist's achievements, showcasing their ability to balance academics and athletics at the highest level. The NFF Awards Committee will have an incredibly difficult task in selecting the finalists from this outstanding group of candidates.”
Nominated by their schools, which are limited to one nominee each, candidates for the 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. The class is selected each year by the NFF Awards Committee, which is comprised of a nationally recognized group of media, College Football Hall of Famers and athletics administrators.
Launched in 1959, the NFF National Scholar-Athlete Awards program is celebrating its 60th year in 2018. The awards were the first initiative in history to grant postgraduate scholarships based on both a player's academic and athletic accomplishments, and the NFF has recognized 841 outstanding individuals since their inception. The Campbell Trophy®, first awarded in 1990, adds to the program's prestige, having previously honored two Rhodes Scholars, a Rhodes Scholar finalist, two Heisman Trophy winners and five first-round NFL draft picks.
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.
Fidelity also 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/NFF National Scholar-Athlete. As part of the initiative, the NFF presents each of the faculty representatives with a plaque, and Fidelity donates $5,000 for the academic support services at each school with a total of $505,000 distributed from 2011-17.
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 Rob 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 Munoz (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); Helton (2014); Oklahoma's Ty Darlington (2015); Western Michigan's Zach Terrell (2016); and Virginia's Micah Kiser (2017).
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