Antoine Wilder Named to Wuerffel Trophy Watch List

July 18, 2017

University of South Carolina sophomore linebacker Antoine Wilder is one of record 108 players under consideration for the Wuerffel Trophy, it was announced today.

The Wuerffel Trophy, known as “College Football’s Premier Award for Community Service,” is presented annually by the All Sports Association in Fort Walton Beach, Fla. Named after 1996 Heisman Trophy winning quarterback Danny Wuerffel from the University of Florida, the Wuerffel Trophy is awarded to the FBS player that best combines exemplary community service with athletic and academic achievement.

Wilder, a 5-10, 190-pounder from Riverdale, Ga., was the Gamecocks’ Community Service Award winner in 2016. He also was on the 2015-16 First-year SEC Honor Roll and was named to the 2016 SEC Fall Academic Honor Roll. He played in the secondary for the Gamecocks’ as a redshirt freshman in 2016, but enters the fall listed with the second-team unit at linebacker.

Voting for the Wuerffel Trophy is performed by a National Selection Committee that includes college football television and print media, industry notables, former head coaches and prior Wuerffel Trophy recipients.

Nominations for the Wuerffel Trophy are made by the respective universities’ Sports Information departments and will close on October 13. A current list of nominees can be found at www.wuerffeltrophy.org beginning August 1. Semifinalists for the award will be announced on Nov. 2 and finalists will be announced on November 22.

The formal announcement of the 2017 recipient will be made at the National Football Foundation’s press conference in New York City on December 5.

The presentation of the 2017 Wuerffel Trophy will occur at the 49th Annual All Sports Association Awards Banquet on February 16, 2018 in Fort Walton Beach, Fla.