FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Aaron Overacker has busted his tail as a walk-on at The University of New Mexico for the past four seasons, redshirting once. He’s moved around to a few different positions before finding a home at tight end. He’s a 4.01 student. He’s a nuclear engineering major. Actually, let’s repeat that…he is a NUCLEAR ENGINEERING major. He sometimes has to leave practice to go to class. Sometimes he misses class and watches the recorded lectures. He missed photo day in 2017 because he had to work. He’s everything a student-athlete should be.
After four years, he finally got on the field when he made his debut in the season opener. Now, he’s been honored by getting named to a national Watch List.
The Burlsworth Trophy, in conjunction with the Springdale Rotary Club in Arkansas announced the 69 players nominated from Division I FBS schools from across the country for the 2018 Burlsworth Trophy, and Overacker and his amazing story is one of the 69. The award is in its ninth year and it’s 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 2017 winner was quarterback Luke Falk from Washington State University. A three-year starter for WSU, Falk broke the PAC-12 record for career passing yards during his senior season. He is now a member of the Miami Dolphins. The 2015 and 2016 winner was Heisman Trophy winner Baker Mayfield who was the first pick in the 2018 NFL draft.
The 2018 Burlsworth Trophy nominees are:
School Year Player Position
| Alabama | SR | Jamey Mosley | LB |
| Appalachian State | JR | Noel Cook | OL |
| Arkansas | JR | Connor Limpert | K |
| Arkansas State | RS Fresh | Blake Grupe | K |
| Auburn | SR | Tucker Brown | TE |
| Ball State | JR | Riley Miller | WR |
| Baylor | JR | Ross Matisick | LS |
| Brigham Young | SR | Gavin Fowler | DB |
| California | SR | Patrick Laird | RB |
| Clemson | SR | Hunter Renfrow | WR |
| Coastal Carolina | JR | Ky’Jon Tyler | WR |
| Colorado | SR | Kyle Evans | RB |
| Colorado State | Soph | Adam Prentice | FB |
| East Carolina | SR | Nate Harvey | DE |
| Eastern Michigan | Soph | Freddie McGee III | DB |
| Florida Atlantic | SR | Gerald Hearns | RB/ST |
| Fresno State | SR | George Helmuth | LB |
| Georgia State | JR | Brandon Wright | P/PK |
| Hawaii | JR | Kaimana Padello | DL |
| Houston | SR | Roman Brown | LB |
| Indiana | SR | Luke Timian | WR |
| Iowa | SR | Jake Gervase | FS |
| Iowa State | JR | Braxton Lewis | S |
| Kansas State | JR | Dalton Schoen | WR |
| Kent State | SR | Matt Bahr | LB |
| Kentucky | SR | David Bouvier | WR |
| Marshall | JR | Malik Gant | S |
| Massachusetts | SR | Joe Previte | DL |
| Memphis | JR | Austin Hall | OLB |
| Michigan State | JR | Kenny Willekes | DE |
| Minnesota | SR | Blake Cashman | LB |
| Mississippi State | Soph | Jace Christmann | PK |
| Nebraska | JR | Jacob Weinmaster | ILB |
| Nevada | SR | Lucas Weber | LB |
| New Mexico | JR | Aaron Overacker | TE |
| New Mexico State | JR | Anthony Muse | WR |
| North Carolina | SR | Cole Holcomb | LB |
| Notre Dame | SR | Chris Finke | WR |
| Ohio State | SR | Kevin Woidke | OL |
| Oklahoma | JR | Lee Morris | WR |
| Oklahoma State | SR | Taylor Cornelius | QB |
| Old Dominion | JR | Blake LaRussa | QB |
| Oregon | SR | Kaulana Apelu | LB |
| Oregon State | Soph | Conor Blount | QB |
| Penn State | JR | Jan Johnson | LB |
| Pittsburgh | SR | Oluwaseun Idowu | LB |
| San Diego State | JR | Kahale Warring | TE |
| SMU | SR | Garrett Stotts | LS |
| South Carolina | SR | Jacob August | TE |
| Southern California | SR | Wyatt Schmidt | H/S |
| Syracuse | RS Fresh | Andre Szmyt | K |
| Temple | SR | Rob Ritrovato | FB |
| Tennessee | SR | Paul Bain | DL |
| Texas A&M | SR | Cullen Gillaspia | FB/ST |
| Texas Tech | SR | Ja’Deion High | WR |
| Toledo | SR | Ka’dar Hollman | CB |
| Tulane | SR | Brian Newman | WR |
| Tulsa | SR | Cole Neph | TE |
| UCF | Soph | Greg McCrae | RB |
| UCLA | SR | Christian Pabico | WR |
| Utah State | SR | Quin Ficklin | OC |
| UTSA | Soph | Jared Sackett | PK |
| Virginia | SR | Lester Coleman | P |
| Wake Forest | JR | Jack Freudenthal | TE |
| West Virginia | Soph | Evan Staley | K |
| Western Kentucky | JR | Ben Holt | LB |
| Western Michigan | SR | Odell Miller | TE |
| Wisconsin | SR | Ryan Connelly | ILB |
“We are now in our ninth year of this award and I’m amazed at the inspiring stories we hear each year.” said Marty Burlsworth, CEO and founder of the Brandon Burlsworth Foundation and older brother of Brandon. “Beginning your college career as a walk-on is certainly not an easy thing to do. These young men accepted that challenge, when others told them ‘you can’t’, they said ‘I can!'”
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 3, 2018 in Springdale, AR to honor the three finalists and to announce the 2018 winner.