IRVING, Texas (Sept. 10, 2015) – The National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame (NFF) announced today the names of the 40 finalists for the 2015 NFF National High School Scholar-Athlete Awards, which will honor one young man from each of the country’s five regions as the best and the brightest for their accomplishments as athletes, scholars and citizens at the high school level. The finalists all graduated from high school in 2015 and are now playing college football. The five honorees, who are being recognized for their previous accomplishments in high school, will be announced the week of Oct. 5.

“The NFF Chapter Network continues to grow and excel, and their work this year has allowed us to identify these exceptional 40 scholar-athletes who have clearly established themselves among the best in the nation,” said NFF President & CEO Steve Hatchell. “It will be a difficult task to select one from each region as the absolute best. Each possesses incredible talent in all facets of their lives, and it is a tremendous honor for us to highlight their accomplishments.”

With 120 chapters and more than 12,000 members, the NFF Chapter Network impacts more than 500,000 student-athletes at 5,000 high schools in 47 states each year. The centerpiece of their efforts are the annual chapter awards banquets, which recognize more than 3,500 of the nation’s top scholar-athletes and distribute more than $1 million in scholarships. From this pool of 3,500 scholar-athletes, the chapters have nominated 40 individuals in 2015 as finalists for the highly sought-after NFF National High School Scholar-Athlete Awards. A national committee will select five honorees, one from each region.

The five honorees will travel to New York City to be honored during the NFF Chapter Awards Luncheon, presented by Under Armour, on Tuesday, Dec. 8, 2015, at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel. First bestowed in 1991, the NFF National High School Scholar-Athlete Awards have become one of the most prestigious high school honors in the country. Criteria for the award include but are not limited to academic achievement, athletic accolades and community involvement.

2015 NFF National High School Scholar-Athlete Award Finalist Highlights

• 25^th year of the National High School Scholar-Athlete Awards
• 40 finalists from around the country
• 3.9 average GPA
• 16 finalists attending FBS schools
• 16 finalists attending FCS schools
• 10 finalists attending Ivy League schools
• 8 finalists attending Division II, Division III or NAIA schools

East Region Nominees

• Travis Edmond from Southern Lehigh High School in Center Valley, Pa. Nominated by the NFF Lehigh Valley (Pa.) Chapter and currently playing at Wagner College.
• James Nicholas from Scarsdale High School in Scarsdale, N.Y. Nominated by the NFF Westchester (N.Y.) Chapter and currently playing at Yale University.
• Jelani Roberts from The Gilman School in Baltimore. Nominated by the NFF Greater Baltimore Chapter and currently playing at Northwestern University.
• Andrew Smith from Bishop Ireton High School in Alexandria, Va. Nominated by the NFF National Capital (D.C.) Chapter and currently playing at Villanova University.
• Ryan Sunda from High Point Regional High School in Sussex, N.J. Nominated by the NFF Morris County (N.J.) Chapter and currently playing at Harvard University.

Midwest Region Nominees

• Rylan Arihood from Rensselaer Central High School in Rensselaer, Ind. Nominated by the NFF Joe Tiller/Northwest Indiana Chapter and currently playing at the University of Indianapolis (Ind.).
• Kyle Castner from Ben Davis High School in Indianapolis. Nominated by the NFF Central Indiana Chapter and currently playing at Columbia University.
• Ty DeForest from Marshall High School in Marshall, Wis. Nominated by the NFF Wisconsin Chapter and currently playing at the University of Wisconsin.
• Noah Frazier from Batavia High School in Batavia, Ill. Nominated by the NFF Chicago Metro Chapter and currently playing at Wheaton College (Ill.).
• William Hefley from Pulaski Academy in Little Rock, Ark. Nominated by the NFF Arkansas Chapter and currently playing at the University of Tulsa.
• Ronald Jackson from Beloit High School in Beloit, Kan. Nominated by the NFF Sunflower (Kan.) Chapter and currently playing at the United States Air Force Academy.
• Chris Maxwell from Avon High School in Avon, Ohio. Nominated by the NFF Mike Cleary/Northeast Ohio Chapter and currently playing at Yale University.
• Logan McCann from Mater Dei High School in Evansville, Ind. Nominated by the NFF Southern Indiana Chapter and currently playing at Marian University (Ind.).
• Benjamin Shoults from Maple Grove Senior High School in Maple Grove, Minn. Nominated by the NFF Minnesota Chapter and currently playing at Harvard University.
• Ryan Woolf from Larry A. Ryle High School in Union, Ky. Nominated  by the NFF Greater Cincinnati Chapter and currently playing at Georgetown College (Ky.).

Northeast Region Nominees

• Zachary Allen from New Canaan High School in New Canaan, Conn. Nominated by the NFF Ralph Desantis/Fairfield County (Conn.) Chapter and currently playing at Boston College.
• Kevin Barrett from Thornton Academy in Saco, Maine. Nominated by the NFF State of Maine Chapter and currently playing at Dartmouth College.
• Kevin Cadigan from Barrington High School in Barrington, R.I. Nominated by the Emo DiNitto/Rhode Island Chapter and currently playing at the University of Pennsylvania.
• Eric Fairweather from Londonderry High School in Londonderry, N.H. Nominated by the NFF Joe Yukica/New Hampshire Chapter and currently playing at Saint Anselm College (N.H.).
• Joe Gaziano from Xaverian Brothers High School in Westwood, Mass. Nominated by the NFF Jack Grinold/Eastern Mass Chapter and currently playing at Northwestern University.
• Mark Piccirillo from Shelton High School in Shelton, Conn. Nominated by the NFF Casey-O’Brien/New Haven (Conn.) Chapter and currently playing at Wesleyan University (Conn.).
• Isaiah Thompkins from Middletown High School in Middletown, Conn. Nominated by the NFF Northern Connecticut Chapter and currently playing at Brown University.
• Zackary Wawrzyk from Minnechaug Regional High School in Wilbraham, Mass. Nominated by the NFF Western Massachusetts Chapter and currently playing at the College of the Holy Cross.

South Region Nominees

• Clark Bulleit from Jesuit High School in Tampa, Fla. Nominated by the NFF Tampa Chapter and currently playing at Duke University.
• Kenneth Brinson from The Marist School in Atlanta. Nominated by the Touchdown Club of Atlanta-NFF Chapter and currently playing at the United States Military Academy.
• Kevin Gehsmann from Western Guilford High School in Greensboro, N.C. Nominated by the NFF Corrigan/Faircloth (N.C.) Chapter and currently playing at Duke University.
• Marques Jones from McKinney High School in McKinney, Texas. Nominated by the NFF Gridiron Club of Dallas Chapter and currently playing at Baylor University.
• Rory Luke from Brother Martin High School in New Orleans. Nominated by the NFF Allstate Sugar Bowl (La.) Chapter and currently playing at Louisiana State University.
• Luke Mayock from Clements High School in Sugar Land, Texas. Nominated by the NFF Touchdown Club of Houston Chapter and currently playing at Miami University (Ohio).
• Dylan Miles from Science Hill High School in Johnson City, Tenn. Nominated by the NFF Mountain Empire (Tenn.) Chapter and currently playing at West Virginia Wesleyan College.
• Liam Ronan from Lexington High School in Lexington, S.C. Nominated by the NFF Midlands (S.C.) Chapter and currently playing at Wofford College.

West Region Nominees

• Tevis Bartlett from Cheyenne East High School in Cheyenne, Wyo. Nominated by the NFF Wyoming Chapter and currently playing at the University of Washington.
• Jake Browning from Folsom High School in Folsom, Calif. Nominated by the NFF Sacramento Valley (Calif.) Chapter and currently playing at the University of Washington.
• Frank Buncom IV from St. Augustine High School in San Diego. Nominated by the NFF Walter J. Zable/San Diego Chapter and currently playing at Stanford University.
• Anthony Camargo from Bishop Amat High School in La Puente, Calif. Nominated by the NFF Pasadena/San Gabriel Valley (Calif.) Chapter and currently playing at Harvard University.
• Kenari Drayton from Segerstrom High School in Santa Ana, Calif. Nominated by the NFF Orange County (Calif.) Chapter and currently playing at Brown University.
• Ryan Parenteau from Boulder Creek High School in Anthem, Ariz. Nominated by the NFF Valley of the Sun (Ariz.) Chapter and currently playing at the University of California, Davis.
• Riley Quinn from Saint Francis High School in Mountain View, Calif. Nominated by the NFF Northern California Chapter and currently playing at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
• Josh Rosen from St. John Bosco High School in Bellflower, Calif. Nominated by the NFF Los Angeles Chapter and currently playing at the University of California, Los Angeles.
• Derek Sommers from Cienega High School in Vail, Ariz. Nominated by the NFF Southern Arizona Chapter and currently playing at Northern Arizona University.

During the past 24 years, 105 student-athletes have been recognized as NFF National High School Scholar-Athletes, and this year will mark the 25th class of honorees. Past NFF National High School Scholar-Athletes have gone on to hold various titles, including president, CEO, vice president, lawyer, NFL player, orthopedic surgeon, senior partner and financial analyst, among others. Recent recipients include Brandon Fisher (2005, former Montana linebacker and current St. Louis Rams defensive backs coach), Andrew Luck (2008, former Stanford and current Indianapolis Colts quarterback), Andrew Rodriguez (2008, Army West Point linebacker and winner of the 2011 William V. Campbell Trophy) and Weston Steelhammer (2013, First Team All-Mountain West defensive back at Air Force).

Other notable past recipients include Todd Helton (1992, former Tennessee quarterback and retired Colorado Rockies first baseman) Drew Henson (1998, a former Michigan quarterback and professional football and baseball player), Bobby Hoying (1991, a former Ohio State quarterback and winner of the 1995 William V. Campbell Trophy) and Jon Stinchcomb (1998, a former Georgia and NFL offensive lineman). Five NFF National High School Scholar-Athletes have gone on to win NFF National Scholar-Athlete Awards for their accomplishments in college. They are Giovanni Carmazzi (1995, Hofstra), Hoying, Eion Hu (1993, Harvard), Rodriguez and Stinchcomb.

Following the Dec. 8 luncheon, the five 2015 recipients will attend the 58^th NFF Annual Awards Dinner, also at the Waldorf Astoria, as honored guests where they will meet many of the game’s greatest legends and current college stars. As the culmination of the regular season, the evening event provides the stage for the induction of the 2015 College Football Hall of Fame Class; the presentation of the 2015 NFF National Scholar-Athlete Awards, presented by Fidelity Investments; the bestowing of the 26th NFF William V. Campbell Trophy, presented by Fidelity Investments, to the nation’s top scholar-athlete; and the honoring of the 2015 NFF Major Award recipients. For tickets to the Dec. 8 luncheon in New York, please contact Ron Dilatush at rdilatush@footballfoundation.com or by calling 972-556-1000.


About The National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame
Founded in 1947 with early leadership from General Douglas MacArthur, legendary Army coach Earl "Red" Blaik and immortal journalist Grantland Rice, The National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame is a non-profit educational organization that runs programs designed to use the power of amateur football in developing scholarship, citizenship and athletic achievement in young people. With 120 chapters and 12,000 members nationwide, NFF programs include FootballMatters.org, the College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta, The William V. Campbell Trophy presented by Fidelity Investments, annual scholarships of more than $1.3 million and a series of initiatives to honor the legends of the past and inspire the leaders of the future. NFF corporate partners include the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl, Fidelity Investments, Herff Jones, New York Athletic Club, Pasadena Tournament of Roses, PrimeSport, SKP, the Sports Business Journal and Under Armour. Learn more at www.footballfoundation.org.