IRVING, Texas – Tennessee redshirt senior center Brandon Kennedy was named as a semifinalist for the 2020 William V. Campbell Trophy, announced the National Football Foundation on Thursday.
The Campbell Trophy, presented by Mazda, recognizes an individual as the absolute best in the country for his combined academic success, football performance and exemplary leadership.
Each nominee must be a senior or graduate student in their final year of eligibility, have a GPA of at least 3.2 on a 4.0 scale, have outstanding football ability as a first team player or significant contributor and have demonstrated strong leadership and citizenship.
Kennedy, a veteran up front, was the Volunteers lone offensive lineman to start all 13 games in 2019 and started his 14th consecutive game at center in UT’s 2020 season-opening win at South Carolina on Sept. 26. In total, he has made 15 starts in his two seasons at UT.
A Wetumpka, Ala., native, Kennedy is on track to earn a master’s degree in agricultural leadership education and communications in December 2020, which will mark his third degree. After receiving his bachelor’s degree from Alabama in recreation and sport management in just three years, the 2020 Preseason All-SEC member, transferred to Tennessee and obtained his master’s degree in sports psychology and motor behavior in December of 2019.
Kennedy was named to CoSIDA’s 2019 All-District 3 First Team after recording a 3.84 GPA in his graduate studies and was also named to the Fall SEC Academic Honor Roll in 2018 and 2019.
After being sidelined due to a season-ending injury in 2018, Kennedy was granted an additional year of eligibility and maximized his time in the classroom, on the field and in the community. While consistently being one of the Vol’s highest-graded offensive linemen, he also volunteered at the Humane Society and the East Tennessee Children’s Hospital. He also participated in the Read Across America campaign and with Tennessee’s Special Olympics 2020 Winter Games.
The NFF will announce 12-14 finalists in November, and each of them will receive an $18,000 postgraduate scholarship as a member of the NFF National Scholar-Athlete Class Presented by Fidelity Investments. One of the finalists will be named the winner of the 31st Campbell Trophy® Presented by Mazda, and his postgraduate scholarship will be increased to $25,000.
VFLs Peyton Manning (1997) and Chris Munoz (2004) were previous winners of the Campbell Trophy.
See full list of Campbell Trophy semifinalists HERE.
-UT Athletics
