Elliott Fry Nominated for Wuerffel Trophy

Oct. 20, 2016

University of South Carolina senior placekicker Elliott Fry is one of a record 94 players nominated 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. Named after 1996 Heisman Trophy winning quarterback Danny Wuerffel, from the University of Florida, the Wuerffel Trophy is awarded to the FBS player who best combines exemplary community service with athletic and academic achievement.

“Once again, we’ve received almost 100 outstanding nominations for the 2016 Wuerffel Trophy,” said Wuerffel. “What a pleasure we have highlighting these fine young men and their contributions to their communities.”

The Southeastern Conference led all conferences nominating 14 players. The ACC followed with 12, while the Big 10 and Conference USA submitted 10 each. Along with the Big 12, the Mountain West had a record nine nominations, the American Athletic submitted eight, the Pac-12 had seven while the Sun Belt and MAC had six nominees each. In addition, all three Independent universities submitted nominations. All FBS conferences are represented on the 2016 Wuerffel Trophy nominee list.

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 university Sports Information departments and closed on Oct. 14, 2016. Semifinalists for the award will be announced on Nov. 3, 2016, and finalists announced on Nov. 23, 2016. The formal announcement of the 2016 Wuerffel Trophy recipient will be on Dec. 6, 2016, at the National Football Foundation’s press conference in New York City.

The 2016 Wuerffel Trophy winner will be interviewed at “The Home Depot College Football Awards Red Carpet Show” on ESPNU and ESPN3 on Dec. 8, 2016, airing at 6 p.m. EST/5 p.m. CST, featuring interviews with award winners and finalists as they approach The Home Depot College Football Awards Show, the College Football Hall of Fame and Chick-fil-A Fan Experience in downtown Atlanta, Georgia. The presentation of the 2016 Wuerffel Trophy will occur at the 48th Annual All Sports Association Awards Banquet on Feb. 10, 2017, in Fort Walton Beach.

Past winners of the Wuerffel Trophy are: 2015 Ty Darlington, University of Oklahoma; 2014 Deterrian Shackelford, University of Mississippi; 2013 Gabe Ikard, University of Oklahoma; 2012 Matt Barkley, University of Southern California; 2011 Barrett Jones, University of Alabama; 2010 Sam Acho, University of Texas; 2009 Tim Hiller, Western Michigan University; 2008 Tim Tebow, University of Florida; 2007 Paul Smith, University of Tulsa; 2006 Joel Penton, Ohio State University; and 2005 Rudy Niswanger, Louisiana State University.

For more information on the Wuerffel Trophy, visit www.wuerffeltrophy.org.