Trophy honors most outstanding walk-on for eighth year
FAYETTEVILLE, AR, Oct. 31, 2017 – Today, the Burlsworth Trophy in conjunction with the Springdale (AR) Rotary Club announced the 63 players nominated from Division 1 (FBS) schools from across the country for the 2017 Burlsworth Trophy. In the award’s eighth year, the Trophy is named in honor of Brandon Burlsworth, former University of Arkansas Walk-On and All-American offensive lineman. Burlsworth’s life is also the subject of a major motion picture, “GREATER”, which was released last year. The Burlsworth Trophy is given to the most outstanding football player in American who began his career as a Walk-On and has shown outstanding performance on the field. Each nominee must have begun his first season of participation with FBS (D1) football program without financial aid of any kind from his university’s athletic department.
The 2016 winner was quarterback Baker Mayfield from the University of Oklahoma. Mayfield is believed to be the only true freshman Walk-On QB in FBS history to start a season opener. He also led his Sooners to the college football playoffs in 2016.
The 2017 Burlsworth Trophy nominees are:
| School | Year | Player | Position |
| Akron | SR | Andrew Hauser | LB |
| Arizona | JR | Christian Boettcher | OL |
| Arizona State | SR | Jacom Brimhall | RB |
| Arkansas | SR | Kevin Richardson II | DB |
| Arkansas State | SR | Johnston White | RB |
| Auburn | JR | Will Hastings | WR |
| Baylor | Soph | Connor Martin | K/P |
| Boise State | JR | Leighton Vander Esch | WLB |
| Bowling Green | JR | Jake Suder | K |
| Brigham Young | JR | Brayden El-Bakri | FB |
| Buffalo | SR | Demone Harris | DE |
| California | JR | Patrick Laird | RB |
| Colorado | SR | Ryan Moeller | S/OLB |
| Colorado State | Soph | Adam Prentice | FB |
| Eastern Michigan | SR | Jaron Johnson | WR |
| ECU | SR | Kiante Anderson | DE |
| Florida Atlantic | SR | Antonyo Woods | OL |
| Florida International | SR | Bryce Canady | DB |
| Florida State | SR | Jared Jackson | WR |
| Fresno State | Soph | Josh Hokit | RB |
| Georgia | SR | Aaron Davis | DB |
| Houston | SR | Linell Bonner | WR |
| Indiana | JR | Luke Timian | WR |
| Iowa | JR | Brandon Snyder | DB |
| Kansas State | SR | Trent Tanking | LB |
| Kentucky | SR | Charles Walker | WR/PR |
| Marshall | Soph | Malik Gant | S |
| Memphis | SR | Anthony Miller | WR |
| Miami | SR | Michael Badgley | K |
| Minnesota | JR | Emmit Carpenter | K |
| Mississippi | Soph | Dawson Knox | TE |
| Mississippi State | RS Fr | Jace Christmann | K |
| Missouri | SR | Jordan Harold | DE |
| Nebraska | SR | Chris Weber | LB |
| Nevada | SR | Austin Corbett | OL |
| New Mexico | SR | Jake Rothschiller | DB |
| North Carolina | JR | Cole Holcomb | LB |
| Ohio State | SR | Elijaah Goins | WR |
| Oklahoma | SR | Baker Mayfield | QB |
| Oklahoma State | SR | Brad Lundblade | C |
| Old Dominion | SR | Bunmi Rotimi | DE |
| Rice | SR | Joe Ballard | LB |
| Rutgers | SR | Darnell Davis | DL |
| San Diego State | Soph | Kahale Warring | TE |
| San Jose State | SR | Michael Carrizosa | P/KS |
| South Alabama | JR | Sam Harris | WR |
| South Carolina | JR | Hayden Hurst | TE |
| Southern California | JR | Reid Budrovich | P |
| Syracuse | SR | Cole Murphy | K |
| Tennessee | SR | Trevor Daniel | P |
| Toledo | SR | Jack Linch | LB |
| Tulsa | SR | Evan Plagg | OT |
| UAB | SR | Tevin Crews | LB |
| UCLA | SR | Giovanni Gentosi | RB |
| Utah State | SR | Braelon Roberts | WR |
| UTSA | SR | Dalton Sturm | QB |
| Virginia Tech | JR | Steven Peoples | RB |
| Wake Forest | SR | Grant Dawson | ILB |
| Washington State | SR | Luke Falk | QB |
| West Virginia | SR | Shane Commodore | S |
| Western Kentucky | SR | Deon Yelder | TE |
| Western Michigan | Soph | DeShawn Foster | DL |
| Wisconsin | SR | Troy Fumagalli | TE |
“In the eighth year of this award, I continue to be in awe of the work ethic and determination of all our nominees.” said Marty Burlsworth, CEO and founder of the Burlsworth Foundation and older brother of Brandon. “Beginning their college career as a walk-on and overcoming incredible obstacles is truly inspiring.”
Without one D1 scholarship offer, Brandon Burlsworth walked on at the University of Arkansas in 1994. He became a three-year starter and was eventually named an All-American in 1998. Burlsworth was selected as the 63rd overall pick by the Indianapolis Colts in the 1999 NFL draft, but was tragically killed in a car accident 11 days later. The Burlsworth Foundation was created in his memory and supports the physical and spiritual needs of children, in particular those children who have limited opportunities.
The Brandon Burlsworth Foundation, in conjunction with Springdale Rotary Club, will host an awards ceremony on December 4, 2017 in Springdale, AR to honor the three finalists and to announce the 2017 winner.
