DALLAS (March 17, 2021) – The National Football Foundation (NFF) Gridiron Club of Dallas Chapter announced today the names of the four collegiate scholar-athletes and the 62 North Texas high school scholar-athletes who will be honored for their accomplishments during the chapter's virtual Awards Show on Sunday, March 21, at 6 p.m. CT. Due to concerns about the COVID-19 pandemic, the awards show will be pre-taped and will be
streamed here.
One high school player will be named the club's top scholar-athlete. Award-winning sportscaster
Scott Murray, who will receive the chapter's Distinguished Texan Award, will emcee for the 12th consecutive year (no event was held in 2020).
"We are extremely proud of the 2021 class of scholar-athletes," said
Gerald Brence, president of the
NFF Gridiron Club of Dallas Chapter and the former athletics director for the Plano Independent School District. "In the 13th year of our chapter, we have the privilege of honoring another group of remarkable high school and collegiate scholar-athletes. These young men not only excel on the football field, but also in the classroom and in their communities. And they did it all in 2020 during the uncertainty caused by the pandemic. We hope they will inspire future student-athletes to succeed in multiple areas of their lives."
The college and high school candidates were selected based on their athletic accomplishments, academic performance and leadership in the community. The high school honorees will enroll in the fall at a prestigious list of institutions, including Ivy League schools, state universities and the service academies, with many continuing to play football at the next level.
2021 NFF Gridiron Club of Dallas Collegiate Scholar-Athletes
- Judah Bell – SMU
- Deion Hair-Griffin – North Texas
- Antonio Ortiz – TCU
- Dominique Ramsey – Texas A&M-Commerce
2021 NFF Gridiron Club of Dallas High School Scholar-Athletes
- Jordan Allen - Mansfield Lake Ridge
- Muhammad Al-Sayyed - Hurst Bell
- Jared Bartz - Prosper Rock Hill
- Tyler Brooks - Frisco Wakeland
- Jayden Brown - Mesquite
- Malik Brown - Dallas Conrad
- Cedric Burkley - Dallas North Dallas
- Chief Collins - Lucas Lovejoy
- Jude Collins - Fort Worth Western Hills
- Iñaki Cortes - Carrollton Newman Smith
- Jonathan Cui - Plano Senior
- Keagan Cunningham - Denton Ryan
- Sean Donohue - Allen
- Collin Drake - Ennis
- Jonathan Echols - Mesquite Poteet
- Joshua Ervin - Red Oak
- Denzel Evans - West Mesquite
- Luke Fairbanks - Lake Highlands
- Lane Flores - Dallas Thomas Jefferson
- Matthew Garcia - Denton
- Casey Griffin - Mesquite Horn
- Dylan Hayden - Plano East
- Marcus Jackson - Richardson
- Jack Jaynes - Dallas Bryan Adams
- Tyvonne Jeffrie - Dallas Seagoville
- Jermius Johnson - Dallas Kimball
- Devin Joshua - Richardson Berkner
- James Laprocido - Plano West
- Jeremy Lau - Frisco Memorial
- Cameron Laurie - Highland Park
- Herman Lee - Prosper
- Zuriel Lopez - South Grand Prairie
- William Marshall - Fort Worth Paschal
- Jay Matney - Dallas Woodrow Wilson
- Triston McDonald - Mansfield Timberview
- Blake McGraw - McKinney Christian
- Clyde Melick - Waxahachie
- Yash Narsian - Carrollton R.L. Turner
- Colton Nicholson - Blooming Grove
- Willie Owens - Dallas Spruce
- Matthew Perez - Dallas Molina
- Devon Price - Whitesboro
- Luke Reber - McKinney Boyd
- Alex Rodriguez - Dallas Sunset
- Dalton Ross - Carrollton Creekview
- Alessio Russolillo - Frisco Lone Star
- Carmelo Sasser - Dallas Lincoln
- Marquiton Sellers - Dallas Samuell
- Ben Spangler - Covenant School of Dallas
- Jake Taylor - Dallas Jesuit
- Will Thompson - McKinney
- Liam Thornton - North Mesquite
- Alan Tierrablanca - McKinney North
- Kaleb Tompkins - Midlothian
- Landon Walker - Keller Central
- Ryan Walker - Coppell
- Zachariah Watson - Granbury
- Haydon Wiginton - Midlothian Heritage
- Conner Williams - Trinity Christian-Addison
- Demondre Williams - Dallas Wilmer-Hutchins
- Kace Williams - Dallas Carter
- Austin Worley – Brewer
The event will also pay tribute to several outstanding individuals for their contributions to the game and the North Texas region.
Previously announced honorees include legendary sportscaster
Scott Murray (Distinguished Texan Award), legendary Texas high school football coach
Ronnie Gage (Legends Award), long time media relations administrator and sports columnist
Bo Carter (Outstanding Contribution to Amateur Football Award), NFL referee
Eugene Hall (Steve Storie Official of the Year) and WFAA sports reporter and anchor
Joe Trahan (Media Person of the Year).
The High School Coach of the Year is
Dave Henigan, who led Denton Ryan to the 2020 Class 5A Division I state title.
The NFF Gridiron Club of Dallas is one of 120 nationwide chapters of the National Football Foundation (NFF) & College Hall of Fame. The NFF 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. NFF programs include Future For Football, the Chick-fil-A College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta, The William V. Campbell Trophy®, the NFF National Scholar-Athlete Class presented by Fidelity Investments and a series of initiatives to honor the legends of the past and inspire the leaders of the future.
