National Football Foundation

A Rhodes Scholar semifinalist and a three-year starter, few can match the unparalleled success of Yale's Casey Gerald on and off the playing field.

A political science major at one of the nation's premier academic institutions, Gerald attended Harvard Business School and was named a Gates Millennium Scholar. He participated in Harvard's Summer Ventures Management Program en route to be recognized as the 2008 Levi Jackson Scholar for character, intellect, achievement and leadership. 

The five-time Yale Defensive Back of the Week led a 2007 defensive unit that topped the Football Championship Subdivision in scoring defense and ranked No. 3 in pass efficiency defense. The Dallas, Texas, native was named the Walter Camp Player of the Game in the Bulldogs' victory over Princeton last season and was instrumental helping Yale to its first Ivy League title in seven years in 2006. 

As the co-founder and president of the Yale Black Men's Union, he developed partnerships with various campus organizations to promote intercultural relations and established the BMU Mentoring Program, which focuses on personal growth, educational assistance and recreational activities for young men in the New Haven area. Gerald is also a Yale Student Ambassador and has served as a site coordinator for the Mayor's Open Schools Program. 

Gerald is the tenth NFF National Scholar-Athlete in Yale history. He earned his MBA from Harvard University in 2014 and was co-founder and CEO of MBAs Across America, a cross-country journey to get MBAs out of classrooms and cubicles and into the heart of the country to learn from American entrepreneurs. Gerald's two TED Talks have been viewed nearly 4 million times, and he opened for President Barack Obama at SXSW in 2016. 

He is now a published author, with his book, There Will be No Miracles Here, being published in 2018.