Burlsworth Trophy Announces Nominees

Burlsworth Trophy Announces Nominees

Honoring the most outstanding player who began as a Walk-On

FAYETTEVILLE, AR, Nov. 1, 2022 – Today, the Burlsworth Trophy announced 81 players nominated from Division 1 (FBS) schools from across the country for the 2022 Burlsworth Trophy. In the award’s thirteenth 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 in 2016.  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 2021 winner was linebacker Grant Morgan from the University of Arkansas. Morgan was one of three Burlsworth Trophy finalists in 2020 while earning Second-Team All-America honors from the Walter Camp Foundation and First-Team All-SEC recognition. He capped a historic career at Arkansas in 2021 as the school’s first-ever Burlsworth Trophy winner while also being named a finalist for the Jason Witten Collegiate Man of the Year Award. During the 2021 campaign, he was again one of the leading tacklers in the SEC and FBS eclipsing the 100-tackle mark for the second straight year.

The 2022 Burlsworth Trophy nominees are:

“All of these young men had the dream to play college football at the highest level”, said Marty Burlsworth, President and CEO of the Burlsworth Trophy and older brother of Brandon Burlsworth. “And they had the work ethic and devotion to make that dream come true. They overcame the odds and achieved beyond others’ expectations. That’s what the Burlsworth Trophy is all about.”

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 Burlsworth Trophy award ceremony to honor the three finalists and to announce the 2022 winner will on December 5^th at 7:00pm CST at Crystal Bridges Museum in Bentonville, Arkansas.

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