The Wuerffel Trophy, known as “College Football’s Premier Award for Community Service,” is presented annually by the All Sports Association in Fort Walton Beach Florida. Named after 1996 Heisman Trophy winning quarterback Danny Wuerffel from the University of Florida, the Wuerffel Trophy is awarded to the FBS player that best combines exemplary community service with athletic and academic achievement.
Voting for the Wuerffel Trophy is performed by a National Selection Committee that includes college football television and print media, industry notables, former head coaches and prior Wuerffel Trophy recipients.
Sudfeld, a player speaker at the 2015 Big Ten Kickoff Luncheon, went on a week-long service trip to Uganda during 2015 spring break. He traveled there with his family to visit construction on an orphanage representing Assist International, the humanitarian group that his grandparents founded in 1990. Sudfeld has also volunteered with the Boys & Girls Club, the Andrew Luck/IU Health Change The Play Program and Read Across America.
The Modesto, Calif., native ranks second in program history in completion percentage (60.6), tied for second in 300-yard passing games (four), fifth in passing touchdowns (34), eighth in passing yardage (4,306) and completions (346), ninth in attempts (571) and 10th in total offense (4,377) in just 25 career games (14 starts).
Sudfeld passed for 1,151 yards on 101-of-167 (60.5 percent) with six TDs, three picks and a 126.6 pass efficiency rating before he suffered a season-ending shoulder injury in the second quarter of game six at Iowa last season.
Semifinalists for the award will be announced on November 3 and finalists will be announced on November 24. Formal announcement of the winner will be on December 8 at the National Football Foundation’s press conference in New York City.
The presentation of the 2015 Wuerffel Trophy will occur at the 47th Annual All Sports Association Awards Banquet on February 12, 2016 in Fort Walton Beach, Florida.
Past winners of the Wuerffel Trophy are: Rudy Niswanger (LSU-2005), Joel Penton (Ohio State-2006), Paul Smith (Tulsa-2007), Tim Tebow (Florida-2008), Tim Hiller (W. Michigan-2009), Sam Acho (Texas-2010), Barrett Jones (Alabama-2011), Matt Barkley (USC-2012), Gabe Ikard (Oklahoma-2013) and Deterrian Shackelford (Ole Miss-2014).
The Wuerffel Trophy is a member of the National College Football Awards Association (NCFAA) which encompasses the most prestigious awards in college football. The 22 awards boast more than 700 years of tradition-selection excellence. Visitwww.NCFAA.org to learn more about our story.
Beginning in 2015, The Home Depot College Football Awards will have a new home at the National Football Foundation’s College Football Hall of Fame and Chick-fil-A Fan Experience in downtown Atlanta. Airing live on ESPN on December 10, 2015, college football’s brightest stars will be honored for their performance on and off the field.
HOOSIERS ON WATCH LISTS
Wuerffel Trophy – QB Nate Sudfeld
Rotary Lombardi Award – OL Dan Feeney
Outland Trophy – OL Dan Feeney
Maxwell Award – QB Nate Sudfeld
