BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — University of Tennessee football player Parker Henry has been named the male recipient of the 2017-18 Southeastern Conference H. Boyd McWhorter Scholar-Athlete of the Year award, SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey announced on Thursday.
LSU volleyball player Kelly Quinn joins Henry as the female recipient of the honor.
Henry and Quinn were chosen by a committee of Faculty Athletics Representatives from SEC universities and each will receive a $20,000 post-graduate scholarship, provided by AT&T, an SEC official sponsor. The pair will be honored at the annual SEC Awards Dinner during the SEC Spring Meetings in Sandestin, Fla., the last week of May.
“Kelly and Parker are outstanding representatives of the student-athletes in the SEC who make a commitment to the total student-athlete experience by excelling both in competition and in the classroom,” Sankey said. “Each of them are superior performers in their sport and high achievers in their academic pursuits. The H. Boyd McWhorter Award is the highest honor for a student-athlete in the SEC and I congratulate Kelly and Parker as well as their families and respective institutions on their achievements.”
Henry is the seventh Tennessee student-athlete to win the prestigious honor, joining John Young (track and field, 1986), Patty Wiegand (track and field, 1991), Lang Wiseman (basketball, 1993), Lauryn McCalley (swimming and diving, 2005), Christine Magnuson (swimming and diving, 2009) and Phoebe Wright (track and field, 2010).
“I am honored to be named the H. Boyd McWhorter Scholar Athlete of the Year,” Henry said. “Being at Tennessee has been an amazing experience both on and off the field, and I am extremely grateful to all of the Tennessee faculty, professors and coaches that made this possible. Without their support and guidance, I would not have been a candidate for such a prestigious award. By being pushed as both a football player and as a student, I am moving forward confident in the foundations provided by Tennessee. I hope to make the faculty, professors, coaches and the University proud as an alumni.”
Henry, a Finance and Political Science double major with a 4.0 grade point average at Tennessee, earned second team CoSIDA Academic All-American honors in 2017 and is a three-time Academic All-District selection. A three-time selection to the SEC Academic Honor Roll, Henry is only the sixth Tennessee football player ever to earn an NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship and the second Volunteer football player to earn Academic All-District honors in back-to-back years, joining Peyton Manning in 1996 and 1997.
“I am delighted that Parker Henry has been selected by the SEC Faculty Athletics Representatives as this year’s H. Boyd McWhorter Scholar-Athlete Postgraduate Scholarship Award winner,” said Dr. Donald Bruce, Tennessee’s Faculty Athletics Representative. “He represents exactly what this prestigious honor is all about: excellence in both athletics and academics. What is particularly impressive about Parker is that he has earned this recognition through his own hard work and dedication, with unfailing humility and class.
“Parker embodies what it means to be a Volunteer: to hold the torch and shadow himself so that others may see. We are so fortunate to have had him on Rocky Top for the past few years, and we wish him great success in the next stages of his life. I’m glad to know that he plans to continue his education at the graduate level, and I know that this scholarship is a very sound investment in his future.”
Henry started 24 games as Tennessee’s primary holder during the 2016 and 2017 seasons, joining the Volunteer football team as a walk on in 2015 after serving as an equipment manager. He was part of 22 victories including two bowl wins as he never missed a hold. He helped placekicker Aaron Medley make 17 field goals in 2016-17 and true freshman Brent Cimaglia drill two field goals of 40+ yards in 2017.
Henry was awarded the University of Tennessee Medallion for Community Service for having over 100 hours of community service. His service projects included volunteering with Habitat for Humanity from 2015-17 and he led underprivileged middle school kids for a two-day weekend at Sevier Heights Baptist Church every February.
He will attend Vanderbilt University and pursue a Master of Science in Finance. Henry has aspirations of becoming an investment banker on Wall Street and later becoming a Professor of Finance.
Past recipients (Tennessee recipients in bold):
1986 – John Young, Tennessee (track)and Virginia Diederich, Georgia (swimming)
1987 – Jeff Noblin, Ole Miss (football) and Julie Estin, Alabama (gymnastics)
1988 – Danny Hoskins, Ole Miss (football) and Linda Leith, Georgia (swimming)
1989 – Mikael Olander, LSU (track) and Deanne Burnett, Georgia (swimming)
1990 – Burke Masters, Mississippi State (baseball) and Janice Kerr, Florida (gymnastics)
1991 – Al Parker, Georgia (tennis) and Patty Wiegand, Tennessee (track and cross country)
1992 – Jeff Laubenthal, Alabama (baseball) and Jenifer Kleyn, Auburn (volleyball)
1993 – Lang Wiseman, Tennessee (basketball) and Aimee York, Mississippi State (volleyball)
1994 – Peter Duitsman, South Carolina (soccer) and Tammy Newlon, Mississippi State (basketball)
1995 – Michael Blanchard, LSU (football) and April Ecke, Mississippi State (cross country)
1996 – Martin Nyberg, LSU (swimming) and Michelle Palmisano, Vanderbilt (basketball)
1997 – Andrew DeVooght, Georgia (swimming) and Meredith Willard, Alabama (gymnastics)
1998 – Jeremy Jackson, Mississippi State (baseball) and Shani Abshier, South Carolina (volleyball)
1999 – Jeff Zurcher, Kentucky (football) and Jessica Field, Arkansas (volleyball)
2000 – Joey Pitts, Georgia (tennis) and Lisette Lee, LSU (golf)
2001 – Scott Westerfield, Mississippi State (football) and Kim Black, Georgia (swimming)
2002 – Trey Dyson, South Carolina (baseball) and Tiffany Woolley, Arkansas (softball)
2003 – Matt Bonner, Florida (basketball) and Kristin Sterner, Alabama (gymnastics)
2004 – Caesar Garcia, Auburn (swimming & diving) and Lauren Imwalle, Alabama (soccer)
2005 – Rob Robertson, Ole Miss (football) and Lauryn McCalley, Tennessee (swimming & diving)
2006 – Rudy Niswanger, LSU (football) and Sarah Lowe, Florida (basketball)
2007 – Emeel Salem, Alabama (baseball) and Erika Schneble, Vanderbilt (track & field)
2008 – Joseph Sykora, Alabama (golf) and Kristen Hastrup, Auburn (swimming & diving)
2009 – Bram ten Berge, Ole Miss (tennis) and Christine Magnuson, Tennessee (swimming & diving)
2010 – Jordan Anderson, Auburn (swimming & diving) and Phoebe Wright, Tennessee (track & field)
2011 – Dan Mazzaferro, Auburn (swimming & diving) and Erica Meissner, Auburn (swimming & diving)
2012 – Michael Roth, South Carolina (baseball) and Wendy Trott, Georgia (swimming & diving)
2013 – Barrett Jones, Alabama (football) and Chelsea Oswald, Kentucky (track & field/cross country)
2014 – Cory Whitsett, Alabama (golf) and Shannon Vreeland, Georgia (swimming)
2015 – Nathanael Franks, Arkansas (track & field) and Maddie Locus, Georgia (swimming)
2016 – Forrest Gamble, Ole Miss (golf) and Haylie McCleney, Alabama (softball)
2017 – Anton McKee, Alabama (swimming) and Sarah Gibson, Texas A&M (swimming)
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