Carter Named Finalist for Prestigious Campbell Trophy

IRVING, Texas – The National Football Foundation (NFF) & College Hall of Fame announced Wednesday that Duke redshirt senior defensive tackle DeWayne Carter has been named a finalist for the 2023 William V. Campbell Trophy®.

The honor is 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.

Carter is joined on the 2023 NFF National Scholar-Athlete Class by Cooper Beebe (Kansas State), JD Bertrand (Notre Dame), Loobert Denelus (Benedict [S.C.]), Jacob Dobbs (Holy Cross), Olu Fashanu (Penn State), Zach Frazier (West Virginia), Owen Grover (Wartburg [Iowa]), Leo Lowin (Army West Point), Ladd McConkey (Georgia), Bo Nix (Oregon), Davius Richard (North Carolina Central), Luke Schuermann (Johns Hopkins [Md.]), Taulia Tagovailoa (Maryland), Liam Thompson (Wabash [Ind.]), and Zak Zinter (Michigan).

The 16 finalists were selected from a record number of 201 semifinalists nationwide from among all NCAA divisions and the NAIA and each receive an $18,000 postgraduate scholarship as a member of the 2023 NFF National Scholar-Athlete Class Presented by Fidelity Investments®.

The finalists will travel to the ARIA Resort & Casino in Las Vegas for the 65th NFF Annual Awards Dinner Presented by Las Vegas on Dec. 5, where their accomplishments will be highlighted. Live during the event, one member of the class will be declared as the winner of the 34th Campbell Trophy® and have his postgraduate scholarship increased to $25,000.

Carter becomes the seventh Duke player to earn the honor, joining Mike Diminick (1988), Bill Obremskey (1983), Sean Renfree (2012), Perry Simmons (2013), David Helton (2014) and DeVon Edwards (2016). Helton also was the recipient of the 2014 Campbell Trophy®.

Carter, a 6-3, 305-pound Pickerington, Ohio, native has been instrumental in Duke's defensive presence throughout his five years. The two-time All-ACC selection has appeared in 46 career games, registering 108 tackles, 23.5 tackles for loss, 11 sacks, nine pass breakups, seven caused fumbles, four fumble recoveries and 12 quarterback pressures. He returned two of his fumble recoveries for touchdowns. He earned Third Team All-America honors from the College Football Network last season, and he was named the Duke Defensive Lineman of the Year.

In the classroom, Carter is pursuing a degree in psychology with a minor in education and theater. He currently holds a 3.47 cumulative GPA and is set to graduate from Duke in December 2023. As a 2022 Academic All-ACC and National Football Foundation Hampshire Honor Society recipient, Carter plans to pursue a career in education after his playing days are over.

A member of the 2022 Allstate AFCA Good Works Team and the 2020 recipient of the Ace Parker Award for his commitment to team, Carter has done extensive outreach in the community. His volunteer work has included time with Habitat for Humanity, reading to elementary school students, coaching little league baseball, and tutoring in the KIPP Durham College Prep program. He is a member of the ACC Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, the vice president of Duke's Omega Psi Phi fraternity, and the public relations chair of the United Black Athletes.

"We are extremely proud to announce the finalists for this year's Campbell Trophy®," said NFF Chairman Archie Manning, whose sons Peyton (Campbell Trophy® recipient) and Eli were NFF National Scholar-Athletes in 1997 and 2003, respectively. "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. As strong leaders in the vein of the trophy's namesake Bill Campbell, they all serve as living examples that the 'Future for Football' is bright. We are excited to honor their hard work and outstanding leadership with postgraduate scholarships."

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 eight first-round NFL draft picks. The trophy is named in honor of the late Bill Campbell, an All-Ivy League player and the captain of Columbia's 1961 Ivy League championship team who found his true calling after an unlikely career change at age 39 from Columbia football coach to advertising executive. His ability to recruit, develop and manage talented executives – all lessons learned on the gridiron – proved to be a critical component of his ability to inspire his business teams to the highest levels of success.

Following the 65th NFF Annual Awards Dinner, presented by Las Vegas, the recipient of the 2023 Campbell Trophy® will be honored at several other prestigious events. On Thursday, Dec. 7, he will be interviewed live during the "The Home Depot College Football Awards" on ESPN. On Sunday, Dec. 10, he will sit on the dais during the Heisman Trophy dinner. Then on Monday, Dec. 11, a reception will be held in his honor at the New York Athletic Club (NYAC), the official home of the trophy since 2013.

Launched in 1959, the NFF National Scholar-Athlete Awards Presented by Fidelity Investments celebrate their 65th year in 2023. 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 186 FARs since the program's inception, and Fidelity has made a total of $930,000 (including $80,000 this year) in donations.

Including the 2023 Campbell Trophy® finalists, the NFF has honored 922 individuals with National Scholar-Athlete Awards, and this year's postgraduate scholarships will push the program's all-time distribution to more than $12.6 million.

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)
2022 – Jack Campbell (Iowa)

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Carter Named Finalist for Prestigious Campbell Trophy

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Carter Named Finalist for Prestigious Campbell Trophy

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