Blue and Gold Illustrated

Nov. 12, 2018

Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football

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12 NOV. 12, 2018 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED UNDER THE DOME Among 179 original candidates, Notre Dame fifth-year senior linebacker Drue Tranquill has been named one of 13 finalists for the 2018 William V. Campbell Trophy, which is awarded annually by the National Football Foun- dation to the nation's top scholar-athlete. The award is also widely known as the "Academic Heisman." Tranquill will receive an $18,000 postgraduate scholarship as a member of the 60th NFF National Scholar-Athlete Class, and he will travel to New York City for the 61st NFF Annual Awards Dinner Dec. 4. At the event, one member of the 13-member class will be declared the winner of the 29th William V. Campbell Trophy® and have his postgraduate scholarship increased to $25,000. A two-time captain and graduate student, the Fort Wayne, Ind., native gradu- ated in May 2018 with an impressive 3.73 GPA (on a 4.0 scale) in mechanical en- gineering. A 2016 first-team Academic All-American, Tranquill was named a first- team Academic All-District selection three times. A two-time recipient of Notre Dame's Rockne Student-Athlete Award, he is a five-time member of the Dean's List, and he has been inducted into the Pi Tau Sigma engineering honorary. Candidates for the award must be a senior or graduate student in their final year of eligibility, have a GPA of at least 3.2 on a 4.0 scale, have outstanding football ability as a first-team player or significant contributor, and have dem- onstrated strong leadership and citizenship. The class is selected each year by the NFF Awards Committee, which is comprised of a nationally recognized group of media, College Football Hall of Famers and athletics administrators. Notre Dame has had a finalist four times in the past 12 years: Tranquill in 2018, linebacker Manti Te'o in 2012, offensive lineman Chris Stewart in 2010 and tight end John Carlson in 2007. The Campbell Trophy® is named in honor of the late Bill Campbell, the former chairman of Intuit, a former player and head coach at Columbia Uni- versity, and the 2004 recipient of the NFF's Gold Medal. The other 12 finalists are: linebacker Kenneth Brinson of Army West Point (3.96, chemical engineering), quarterback Taryn Christion of South Dakota State (3.61, business economics), linebacker De'Arius Christmas of Grambling State (3.82, engineering technology), safety D'Cota Dixon of Wisconsin (3.32, rehabilitation psychology), quarterback Ryan Finley of North Carolina State (3.76, psychology), linebacker Piercen Harnish of Saint Francis (Ind.) (3.96, finance), quarterback Trace McSorley of Penn State (3.31, accounting), of- fensive lineman Dalton Risner of Kansas State (3.60, communication studies), offensive lineman Max Scharping of Northern Illinois (3.99, kinesiology), linebacker Eric Stevenson of Wheaton (Ill.) (3.83, economics), quarterback Easton Stick of North Dakota State (3.92, sport management) and defensive lineman Christian Wilkins of Clemson (3.33, communication studies). Tranquill suffered a high ankle sprain early in the 44-22 victory versus Navy Oct. 27, but Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly was "optimistic" about his return in the coming month, and stated two days before the Northwestern game Nov. 3 that the progress was promising after he had practiced in full pads in both 7 on 7 and team drills. It was going to be a game-day decision versus the Wildcats. "We're not going to put Drue out there unless he's capable of helping us win," Kelly said on Nov. 1. On Oct. 31, two Notre Dame players were named among the 20 semifinal- ists by The Maxwell Football Club for both the 2018 Maxwell and Chuck Bed- narik awards. Junior quarterback Ian Book, despite not even being the starter the first three games, was among 11 quarterbacks chosen by the Maxwell Award, presented annually to the nation's outstanding player. Meanwhile, senior defensive tackle Jerry Tillery is among 12 defensive linemen who made the cut for the Bednarik Award, which honors the nation's top defensive player. The three finalists for each award will be announced Nov. 19. Replacing two-time captain Drue Tranquill in 2019 will be quite the task, but the Notre Dame staff did get an evaluation period during prepara- tion for the game at Northwestern Nov. 3. With Tranquill mostly sidelined because of a high ankle sprain, starting rover Asmar Bilal (who has a fifth year of eligibility in 2019) and sophomores Drew White and Jordan Genmark Heath all worked there in an attempt to earn more snaps. Genmark Heath had been listed behind Tran- quill, but the out-of-nowhere emergence of White, who missed all of spring and pretty much all of August with a leg injury, was deemed the better fit against Navy Oct. 27. He recorded six tackles when tabbed to replace the injured Tran- quill. Kelly said White had become conspicuous the past month with his work on the scout team. "He was instinctive, fast, physical, so I pulled him off there and gave him to [special teams coordinator Brian] Polian," Kelly said of the 6-0, 228-pound White. "Then he showed on special teams. This was something that has been kind of percolating. "He's been emerging. It starts generally if I see you in that fashion on scout team." Because Navy's triple-option offense had little in the way of passing schemes, Kelly believed White was best suited for that style. "There wasn't a lot of other responsibilities other than dive to QB," Kelly said. "It was perfect for him to kind of get his feet wet. He didn't have to worry about curl responsibilities, first back out, wheel routes, things of that nature. "… He did a really good job. We're going to enhance it a little bit more and now see if he can find the curl." DRUE TRANQUILL NAMED FINALIST FOR 'ACADEMIC HEISMAN' BUCK LINEBACKER BUILDING COMMITTEE Sophomore Drew White has emerged as the season has progressed and will help fill in for injured fifth-year senior Drue Tranquill at Buck linebacker. PHOTO COURTESY NOTRE DAME MEDIA RELATIONS Tranquill was among 13 finalists — out of 179 original candidates — for the 2018 William V. Campbell Trophy, which is awarded annually by the National Football Foundation to the nation's top scholar-athlete. PHOTO BY BILL PANZICA

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