Nov. 15, 2011

Today, The Burlsworth Trophy and the presenting sponsor, the Springdale (Ark.) Rotary Club, are excited to announce the 50 players nominated for The Burlsworth Trophy. The 2011 list includes team captains, All-Conference selections, and national statistical leaders from every conference in the nation. The Trophy is given to the most outstanding football player in America who began his career as a walk-on. A walk-on is defined as a player who began his first season of participation with a D1 (FBS) football program without financial aid of any kind from his university’s athletic department.

University of South Carolina junior fullback Dalton Wilson is one of the 50 players who will be considered for this award.

The 2010 inaugural winner was Georgia Tech Center Sean Bedford. Out of high school, no Division I program offered him a scholarship, so he chose Georgia Tech for its outstanding academic reputation and its engineering program. Once there, he decided to walk on to the football team. He eventually became a two-time first team All-ACC selection and led the way for a rushing offense that ranked No. 1 in the entire nation. Sporting News named the aerospace engineering major one of the 20 smartest athletes in the nation.