National Football Foundation Honors W&J Left Tackle
WASHINGTON, Pa. -- Washington & Jefferson College senior left tackle Gary Flavion (Cranberry Township, Pa./Seneca Valley) has been named as a candidate for the National Football Foundation National Scholar-Athlete Awards as well as a semifinalist for the William V. Campbell Trophy.
Nominees for the NFF Scholar-Athlete Awards must be a senior with at least a 3.2 GPA, be a significant contributor to his football team and have demonstrated strong leadership on and off the field.
Flavion is a history major and a three-year starter on the Presidents’ offensive line. He is a two-time All-PAC award winner with a 3.50 grade-point average and aspires to attend graduate school with hopes of becoming a history professor.
In 2011, Flavion has helped W&J average 449.5 yards and 30.5 points per game. The Presidents are 27th in NCAA Division III in total offense and 21st in passing yards per game (296.3).
Flavion is one of 30 nominees from NCAA Division III schools and 127 candidates from all divisions. Westminster quarterback Shaun Lehocky was the only other player recognized from the Presidents’ Athletic Conference.
During the summer of 2009, Flavion was awarded the college’s Geary Award as a part of the award-winning Magellan Project on campus. He traveled to Europe and studied the Invasion of Normandy and WWII by visiting museums and battle sites in England and France.
The NFF will select up to 16 recipients on Wednesday, October 16. Award winners will receive an $18,000 post-graduate scholarship and will travel to New York City for the NFF Awards dinner where the winner of the William V. Campbell Trophy will be announced.
"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 past recipients of the Campbell Trophy include: Air Force's Chris Howard (1990); Florida's Brad Culpepper (1991); Colorado's Jim Hansen (1992); Virginia's Thomas Burns (1993); Nebraska's Rob Zatechka (1994); Ohio State's Bobby Hoying (1995); Florida's Danny Wuerffel (1996); Tennessee's Peyton Manning (1997); Georgia's Matt Stinchcomb (1998); Marshall's Chad Pennington (1999); Nebraska's Kyle Vanden Bosch (2000); Miami's (Fla.) Joaquin Gonzalez (2001); Washington University in St. Louis' Brandon Roberts (2002); Ohio State's Craig Krenzel (2003); Tennessee's Michael Munoz (2004); LSU's Rudy Niswanger (2005); Rutgers' Brian Leonard (2006); Texas' Dallas Griffin (2007); Cal's Alex Mack (2008); Florida's Tim Tebow (2009); and Texas' Sam Acho (2010).
