FORT WALTON BEACH, Fla. —Garrett Adcock, the nation’s only second-year law student in FBS football, who recently had his season and career ended due to concussion symptoms, has been named one of 11 eleven semifinalists for the 2016 Wuerffel Trophy, known as “College Football’s Premier Award for Community Service”. The award is presented annually by the All Sports Association in Fort Walton Beach.
“Once again, this year shows how many outstanding men there are in college football that are doing great work in their communities,” said Danny Wuerffel. “While it is a difficult task narrowing down the list to semifinalists, these young men certainly represent the best of the best.”
“I am honored to be a semi-finalist for this prestigious award. It is my hope that this nomination will bring awareness to the causes served by the other semifinalists and myself,” said Adcock. “The Wuerffel Trophy represents the person I strive to be, and I am excited for the opportunities ahead.”
The Wuerffel Trophy, named after Wuerffel, the 1996 Heisman Trophy winning quarterback from the University of Florida, is awarded to the Football Bowl Subdivision player who best combines exemplary community service with athletic and academic achievement.
Adcock is the only repeat semifinalist from last year. His story is well chronicled, both in terms of his community service, global outreach, and his football prowess. He is a two-time CoSIDA Academic All-District selection in 2014 and again in 2016, and is a three-time Mountain West Academic All-Conference selection. In 2015, he was a UNM Athletics winner of the Director’s Chair for graduating with a 4.00 GPA. He is the only college football player in the FBS that is in his second year of law school.
Garrett’s commitment to community service is tremendous and noteworthy. He has served on three separate Mission trips to Ateiku, Ghana (in March 2011, March 2012 and January 2014), travelling with Christina Adcock, CEO of CAFF, Inc., to open a hospital in the region. He worked in the pharmacy to serve over 3,000 patients on the first day of hospital functioning. While in Ghana, Garrett also helped build a school for the children of the village. In addition, he worked with CAFF, Inc. to drill fresh water well in outlying village. His next trip to Ghana will take place after the Ebola Outbreak subsides.
Despite not being a native of Albuquerque, he has made serving his adopted community a priority. He serves as a volunteer at Joy Junction, Albuquerque (Spring 2014- present), serving the homeless community of Albuquerque through serving warm meals. He also helped collaborate with the Joy Junction staff to host the Annual Lobo Football Day and leads a small group of Lobo football players who serve regularly at Joy Junction.
He also has spent time as a volunteer at Copper Pointe Church’s Kid’s Ministry (Summer 2014- present) serving as mentor and caretaker for children during weekly services. His other volunteer work in the community include coaching of football camps at Kirtland Elementary School, Albuquerque (Spring 2013- present); volunteering at The Store House, Albuquerque (Spring 2013, Spring 2014) a warehouse to provide food to the needy in Albuquerque.
While he is in law school, his ultimate goal is to be a surgeon. To that end, Garrett has spent time as a
Pediatric Oncology Volunteer (Fall 2012- Fall 2013), serving as a liaison for out of town families while they were at UNMH for treatment.
Adcock also has served as a Special Olympics Coach (Spring 2011, Spring 2012) and he volunteered for mission work in New Orleans Post Katrina (March 2006).
Garrett currently is the UNM Student-Athlete Advisory Committee Chair, UNM’s liaison to the conference office’s SAAC, learning from Kendall Spencer, a former NCAA long jump champion at UNM who is currently on the NCAA Board of Director’s. Adcock this season has also been profiled by FootballMatters.org and NCAA Champions Magazine, along with a future story for USA Today.
The 2016 Wuerffel Trophy Semifinalists, listed alphabetically by university:
DeVon Edwards, Duke University, senior, defensive back
Josiah Price, Michigan State University, senior, tight end
Christian McCaffrey, Stanford University, junior, running back
Trevor Knight, Texas A&M University, senior, quarterback
Brooks Ellis, University of Arkansas, senior, linebacker
Jeb Blazevich, University of Georgia, junior, tight end
Garrett Adcock, University of New Mexico, senior, offensive line
Drue Tranquill, University of Notre Dame, junior, defensive back
Mike Caprara, University of Pittsburgh, senior, linebacker
Jeff Lindquist, University of Washington, senior, tight end
Zach Terrell, Western Michigan University, senior, quarterback
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. Three finalists will be announced on Nov. 23, 2016, and 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 recipient 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 location for 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.
The Wuerffel Trophy is a member of the National College Football Awards Association, which encompasses the most prestigious awards in college football. The 23 awards boast more than 700 years of tradition-selection excellence. For more information, go to www.NCFAA.org. For more information on the Wuerffel Trophy, visit www.wuerffeltrophy.org.
Contact: Tom Brassell, tombrassell@wuerffeltrophy.org, 850-585-5512