Eastern Michigan Athletics
Photo by: Steve King/KingStudios
Alex Gillett Named Campbell Trophy Semifinalist
9/27/2012 4:08:00 PM | Football, E-Gridiron Group
Senior QB among six semifinalists from Mid-American Conference
YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) -- Eastern Michigan University senior quarterback Alex Gillett (Green Springs, Ohio-Clyde) has been selected as one of 147 semifinalists for the William V. Campbell Trophy, The National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame announced Thursday, Sept. 27.
Gillett is one of 50 semifinalists representing the Football Bowl Subdivision and one of six from the Mid-American Conference.
The Campbell Trophy is in its 23rd year honoring college football's top scholar-athlete. Candidates must be seniors or graduate students in their final years of eligibility, have a GPA of at least 3.2, have outstanding football ability as a first team player or significant contributor, and have demonstrated strong leadership and citizenship. The class is selected each year by the NFF Awards Committee, which is comprised of a nationally recognized group of media, College Football Hall of Famers and athletics administrators.
"This year's candidates truly embody the National Football Foundation's mission of building leaders through football," said NFF Chairman Archie Manning whose sons Peyton (1997 Campbell Trophy winner) and Eli were named NFF National Scholar-Athletes in 1997 and 2003, respectively. "They are standouts in the classroom and on the field and have become leaders in their respective communities. Each school should take great pride in being represented by such well-rounded young men who will undoubtedly go on to do great things in life."
The NFF Awards Committee will announce up to 16 finalists Oct. 25. Each finalist will be recognized as part of the 2012 NFF National Scholar-Athlete Class, receiving an $18,000 post-graduate scholarship. Each member of the NFF National Scholar-Athlete Class will travel to New York City to be honored at the 55th NFF Annual Awards Dinner Dec. 4 at the Waldorf Astoria, and the winner of the Campbell Trophy will be announced at the dinner.
Gillett has played in 36 games for the Eagles, earning 30 starts, and has made signifi cant advancement in several EMU career categories. Gillett has rushed 474 times for 2,139 yards and 12 touchdowns and has completed 339-of-638 passes for 4,297 yards and 34 touchdowns in those 36 games. He has recorded 1,112 total off ensive plays (rush and pass) for 6,436 total off ensive yards.
He is currently ranked fourth all-time in total off ensive yards and is just the sixth player in school history to reach 4,000 total off ensive yard. His 339 career completions are good for the seventh spot while his 4,297 career passing yards is eighth in EMU history. Additionally, his 34 career touchdown passes is just one shy of Matt Bohnet for third in EMU history.
Named in honor of Bill Campbell, the chairman of Intuit, former player and head coach at Columbia University and the 2004 recipient of the NFF's Gold Medal, the award comes with a 25-pound bronze trophy and increases the amount of the recipient's grant by $7,000 for a total post-graduate scholarship of $25,000. A total distribution of $300,000 in scholarships will be awarded at the NFF Annual Awards Dinner, pushing the program's all-time distributions to more than $10.1 million.
Semifinalists Representing Football Bowl Subdivision
Eastern Michigan -- Alex Gillett
Alabama -- Barrett Jones
Arkansas -- Dylan Breeding
Army -- Zach Watts
Auburn -- Ashton Richardson
Ball State -- Scott Kovanda
Baylor -- Nick Florence
Brigham Young -- Riley Nelson
California -- Matt Summers-Gavin
Central Florida -- Lyle Dankenbring
Clemson -- Dalton Freeman
Colorado -- Dustin Ebner
Duke -- Sean Renfree
Florida -- Caleb Sturgis
Florida State -- Dustin Hopkins
Georgia -- Ty Frix
Indiana -- Adam Replogle
Iowa -- James Vandenberg
Iowa State -- Carter Bykowski
Kentucky -- Matt Smith
Louisiana Tech -- Matt Nelson
Mississippi -- Tyler Campbell
Missouri -- T.J. Moe
Navy -- Keegan Wetzel
Nebraska -- Rex Burkhead
North Carolina -- Pete Mangum
North Carolina State -- McKay Frandsen
Northern Illinois -- Nabal Jefferson
Northwestern -- Patrick Ward
Notre Dame -- Manti Te'o
Ohio -- Matt Weller
Ohio State -- Ben Buchanan
Penn State -- Pete Massaro
Purdue -- Robert Maci
Rutgers -- Duron Harmon
San Jose State -- Travis Johnson
South Carolina -- Seth Strickland
South Florida -- Evan Landi
Southern California -- Matt Barkley
Syracuse -- Ryan Nassib
Texas -- Marquise Goodwin
Texas Tech -- Cody Davis
Toledo -- Dan Molls
UCLA -- Jeff Locke
Utah -- Sean Sellwood
Virginia Tech -- Joey Phillips
West Virginia -- Jeff Braun
Western Michigan -- Chris Prom
Wisconsin -- Shelton Johnson
Wyoming -- Luke Ruff
Gillett is one of 50 semifinalists representing the Football Bowl Subdivision and one of six from the Mid-American Conference.
The Campbell Trophy is in its 23rd year honoring college football's top scholar-athlete. Candidates must be seniors or graduate students in their final years of eligibility, have a GPA of at least 3.2, have outstanding football ability as a first team player or significant contributor, and have demonstrated strong leadership and citizenship. The class is selected each year by the NFF Awards Committee, which is comprised of a nationally recognized group of media, College Football Hall of Famers and athletics administrators.
"This year's candidates truly embody the National Football Foundation's mission of building leaders through football," said NFF Chairman Archie Manning whose sons Peyton (1997 Campbell Trophy winner) and Eli were named NFF National Scholar-Athletes in 1997 and 2003, respectively. "They are standouts in the classroom and on the field and have become leaders in their respective communities. Each school should take great pride in being represented by such well-rounded young men who will undoubtedly go on to do great things in life."
The NFF Awards Committee will announce up to 16 finalists Oct. 25. Each finalist will be recognized as part of the 2012 NFF National Scholar-Athlete Class, receiving an $18,000 post-graduate scholarship. Each member of the NFF National Scholar-Athlete Class will travel to New York City to be honored at the 55th NFF Annual Awards Dinner Dec. 4 at the Waldorf Astoria, and the winner of the Campbell Trophy will be announced at the dinner.
Gillett has played in 36 games for the Eagles, earning 30 starts, and has made signifi cant advancement in several EMU career categories. Gillett has rushed 474 times for 2,139 yards and 12 touchdowns and has completed 339-of-638 passes for 4,297 yards and 34 touchdowns in those 36 games. He has recorded 1,112 total off ensive plays (rush and pass) for 6,436 total off ensive yards.
He is currently ranked fourth all-time in total off ensive yards and is just the sixth player in school history to reach 4,000 total off ensive yard. His 339 career completions are good for the seventh spot while his 4,297 career passing yards is eighth in EMU history. Additionally, his 34 career touchdown passes is just one shy of Matt Bohnet for third in EMU history.
Named in honor of Bill Campbell, the chairman of Intuit, former player and head coach at Columbia University and the 2004 recipient of the NFF's Gold Medal, the award comes with a 25-pound bronze trophy and increases the amount of the recipient's grant by $7,000 for a total post-graduate scholarship of $25,000. A total distribution of $300,000 in scholarships will be awarded at the NFF Annual Awards Dinner, pushing the program's all-time distributions to more than $10.1 million.
Semifinalists Representing Football Bowl Subdivision
Eastern Michigan -- Alex Gillett
Alabama -- Barrett Jones
Arkansas -- Dylan Breeding
Army -- Zach Watts
Auburn -- Ashton Richardson
Ball State -- Scott Kovanda
Baylor -- Nick Florence
Brigham Young -- Riley Nelson
California -- Matt Summers-Gavin
Central Florida -- Lyle Dankenbring
Clemson -- Dalton Freeman
Colorado -- Dustin Ebner
Duke -- Sean Renfree
Florida -- Caleb Sturgis
Florida State -- Dustin Hopkins
Georgia -- Ty Frix
Indiana -- Adam Replogle
Iowa -- James Vandenberg
Iowa State -- Carter Bykowski
Kentucky -- Matt Smith
Louisiana Tech -- Matt Nelson
Mississippi -- Tyler Campbell
Missouri -- T.J. Moe
Navy -- Keegan Wetzel
Nebraska -- Rex Burkhead
North Carolina -- Pete Mangum
North Carolina State -- McKay Frandsen
Northern Illinois -- Nabal Jefferson
Northwestern -- Patrick Ward
Notre Dame -- Manti Te'o
Ohio -- Matt Weller
Ohio State -- Ben Buchanan
Penn State -- Pete Massaro
Purdue -- Robert Maci
Rutgers -- Duron Harmon
San Jose State -- Travis Johnson
South Carolina -- Seth Strickland
South Florida -- Evan Landi
Southern California -- Matt Barkley
Syracuse -- Ryan Nassib
Texas -- Marquise Goodwin
Texas Tech -- Cody Davis
Toledo -- Dan Molls
UCLA -- Jeff Locke
Utah -- Sean Sellwood
Virginia Tech -- Joey Phillips
West Virginia -- Jeff Braun
Western Michigan -- Chris Prom
Wisconsin -- Shelton Johnson
Wyoming -- Luke Ruff
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