15 Finalists Vie for National Football Foundation’s Draddy Trophy

Trophy News from Dallas, Texas…..

15 Finalists Vie For National Football Foundation’s Draddy Trophy

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As the 2008 college football season comes to a close, the 15 NFF Draddy Trophy Finalists will head to New York City next week, where each will claim an $18,000 scholarship, while the nation’s top scholar-athlete from among the finalists will be announced as the 19th recipient of the coveted NFF Draddy Trophy, presented by HealthSouth.

The Draddy Trophy is one of college football’s most sought after and competitive awards, recognizing an individual as the absolute best in the country for his combined academic success, football performance and exemplary community leadership.

“The Draddy represents excellence in all aspects of one’s life,” said NFF President & CEO Steven J. Hatchell. “Past recipients have gone on to become lawyers, doctors and some of the best players in the NFL. Football truly does build leaders, and this year’s 15 finalists are no exception.”

The announcement will be made between 8:15 – 9 p.m. during the NFF Annual Awards Dinner at the Waldorf=Astoria on Tuesday, December 9.

Predicting The College Football Award Winners

Trophy News from The Bleacher Report……..

Predicting The College Football Award Winners

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Recently, all of the college football awards talk has been about the Heisman Trophy and the Big 12 quarterbacks.

People seem to be forgetting the other awards that will be handed out to top college football players around the country on Dec. 13. I’ll preview a few of the major ones.

Heisman Trophy: Graham Harrell- Texas Tech

Ever since Texas Tech’s loss to Oklahoma, people have ridden off Harrell as a Heisman candidate. Let’s not forget that Sam Bradford, Harrell, and Colt McCoy have all lost to another one of the contender’s teams.

Harrell has put up ridiculous numbers this year in college football’s best league. His 4,438 passing yards rank first in the nation, while Bradford ranks third and McCoy ranks 12th. The Red Raiders’ phenom has also thrown 39 touchdowns and has a quarterback rating of 164.96.

But stats aren’t the only reason to choose Harrell, it’s the film. If you watch him play you can tell that he knows how to play the game and is as crisp as a college quarterback can be.

No clear favorite for Silver Football

Trophy News from the Chicagotribune.com……..

No Clear Favorite for Silver Football

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The season has yet to be completed. The majority of votes have yet to be cast.

And yet it feels as if the Silver Football trophy, awarded each year by the Tribune to the Big Ten’s best player, already has changed hands several times.

The preseason pick was Ohio State’s Chris “Beanie” Wells. But a foot injury ruined his September and cleared a path for Michigan State’s Javon Ringer, whose 198-yard output at Indiana in the Big Ten opener was trumped only by his astounding workload (44 carries).

As Ringer lost feeling in his legs, Penn State’s Daryll Clark emerged as the league’s best quarterback. Sure, he would throw for as many yards in a game as your favorite Big 12 signal-caller did in a quarter, but Clark was efficient, reliable and made terrific decisions.

Then came Nov. 8. Old Man Winter came to Iowa City and delivered a cold-blooded shot to Clark’s gut. Clark threw a fourth-quarter interception that sparked Iowa’s game-winning field-goal drive.

But the band played on after the Nittany Lions‘ loss. Greene Day rocked Kinnick Stadium. Iowa’s Shonn Greene rushed for 117 yards and two scores against Penn State, giving him MVP momentum in the season’s final weeks.

So let’s look at the four top candidates (in alphabetical order):

Daryll Clark

Hand him the trophy: MVP of the league’s best team. Has thrown just four interceptions in 259 attempts.

Not so fast: One week after suffering a concussion at Ohio State, he played in a daze, completing just 9 of 23 passes at Iowa.

Talking point: “You just felt like he was in total control.”—Indiana coach Bill Lynch after Clark led Penn State to a 34-7 victory over the Hoosiers.