Benton selected as semifinalist for 2021 William V. Campbell Trophy

Posted: Sep 30, 2021

Release and graphic courtesy of Gallaudet Athletics Comminications. Read the original here.

IRVING, Texas - Gallaudet University senior quarterback Timel Benton (Columbia, S.C.) was selected as one the best and brightest from the college gridiron as announced by The National Football Foundation (NFF) and College Hall of Fame. Benton is one of 176 semifinalists honored from the Football Bowl Subdivision, Football Championship Subdivision, Division II, Division III and NAIA. The 176 candidates comprise the list of semifinalists for the 2021 William V. Campbell Trophy, which recognizes an individual as the absolute best scholar-athlete in the nation.

Benton is a five-year letterwinner in football at Gallaudet, the world's only university with programs and services specifically designed to accommodate deaf and hard of hearing students. The Physical Education and Recreation major is on track to graduate this May 2022. The quarterback has played in 31 games since the 2016 season and tallied 2,637 passing yards and 26 touchdowns through the air. On the ground, Benton has ran the ball 340 times for 1,365 yards and 13 scores. He was named an Eastern Collegiate Football Conference (ECFC) all-conference honorable mention offense twice (2017, '19). Benton has been named to the ECFC All-Academic list for the past two seasons (2019, '20).

"Timel has been a mainstay on offense for the Bison for the past five years. His leadership is second to none and he is the heartbeat of our offense," said Gallaudet head football coach Chuck Goldstein. "Timel is a great role model for the younger players on the team and he has been a leader on and off the field."

Benton, who is hard of hearing, is one of 39 nominees selected from Division III, and he is the only honoree from the ECFC. Gallaudet is one of two football programs from the District of Columbia represented among the 176 candidates.

Gallaudet has had 11 NFF National Scholar-Athlete semifinalists over the years including 10 in the past 11 years. The first came in 1992 when Jeffrey Kurz was bestowed the great honor while the second came 11 years ago when Caleb Hinton (2011) was recognized for his academic and athletic prowess followed by Denton Mallas (2012), Nicholas Elstad (2013), Nico Santiago (2014), Sean Fenton (2016), Devaron Scott (2017), Brad Peterson (2018), Matthew Cracraft (2019) and Cress Fisher (2020).

Celebrating its 32nd year, the award recognizes an individual as the absolute best football scholar-athlete in the nation for his combined academic success, football performance and exemplary leadership. The NFF will announce 12-14 finalists on Oct. 27, and each of them will receive an $18,000 postgraduate scholarship as a member of the 2021 NFF National Scholar-Athlete Class Presented by Fidelity Investments. The finalists will travel to the ARIA Resort & Casino Las Vegas for the 63rd NFF Annual Awards Dinner Presented by Las Vegas on Dec. 7, where their accomplishments will be highlighted in front of one of the most powerful audiences in all of sports. Live during the event, one member of the class will be declared as the winner of the 32nd Campbell Trophy® and have his postgraduate scholarship increased to $25,000.

"These 176 impressive candidates truly represent the scholar-athlete ideal," said NFF Chairman Archie Manning whose sons Peyton (Campbell Trophy winner) and Eli were named NFF National Scholar-Athletes in 1997 and 2003, respectively. "For more than 60 years, the NFF National Scholar-Athlete Awards have honored more than 800 college football players who have been successful on the football field, in the classroom and as leaders in the community. And we are excited to celebrate the 32nd year of the Campbell Trophy, which honors the best of the best. This year's semifinalists further illustrate the power of our great sport in developing the next generation of influential leaders."

Nominated by their schools' Sports Information Office, candidates for the awards 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 exceptional football ability as a first team player or significant contributor, and have demonstrated strong leadership and citizenship. Only one nomination per school. The class is selected each year by the NFF Awards Committee, which is comprised of a nationally recognized group of media, College Football Hall of Famers and athletics administrators.

"The NFF would like to personally congratulate each of the nominees as well as their schools and coaches on their tremendous accomplishments," said NFF President & CEO Steve Hatchell. "We are extremely proud to highlight each semifinalist's achievements, showcasing their ability to balance academics and athletics at the highest level. The NFF Awards Committee will have an incredibly difficult task in selecting the finalists from this outstanding group of candidates."

The past recipients of the William V. Campbell Trophy include: Air Force's Chris Howard (1990); Florida's Brad Culpepper (1991); Colorado's Jim Hansen (1992); Virginia's Thomas Burns (1993); Nebraska's Rob Zatechka (1994); Ohio State's Bobby Hoying (1995); Florida's Danny Wuerffel (1996); Tennessee's Peyton Manning (1997); Georgia's Matt Stinchcomb (1998); Marshall's Chad Pennington (1999); Nebraska's Kyle Vanden Bosch (2000); Miami (Fla.)'s Joaquin Gonzalez (2001); Washington University in St. Louis (Mo.)'s Brandon Roberts (2002); Ohio State's Craig Krenzel (2003); Tennessee's Michael Munoz (2004); LSU's Rudy Niswanger (2005); Rutgers' Brian Leonard (2006); Texas' Dallas Griffin (2007); California's Alex Mack (2008); Florida's Tim Tebow (2009); Texas' Sam Acho (2010); Army West Point's Andrew Rodriguez (2011); Alabama's Barrett Jones (2012); Penn State's John Urschel (2013); Duke's David Helton (2014); Oklahoma's Ty Darlington (2015); Western Michigan's Zach Terrell (2016); Virginia's Micah Kiser (2017); Clemson's Christian Wilkins (2018); Oregon's Justin Herbert (2019); Memphis' Brady White (2021).

About NFF National Scholar-Athlete Awards
Launched in 1959, the NFF National Scholar-Athlete Awards Presented by Fidelity Investments celebrate their 63rd year in 2021. The awards were the first initiative in history to grant postgraduate scholarships based on both a player's academic and athletic accomplishments, and the NFF has recognized 866 outstanding individuals since the program's inception. This year's postgraduate scholarships will push the program's all-time distribution to more than $11.9 million. The trophy was first awarded in 1990, adding to the program's prestige. Past recipients include two Rhodes Scholars, a Rhodes Scholar finalist, two Heisman Trophy winners and seven first-round NFL draft picks.

About the NFF & College Football 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 the College Football Hall of Fame, the NFF Scholar-Athlete Awards, presented by Fidelity Investments, Play It Smart, the NFF Hampshire Honor Society, the NFF National Scholar-Athlete Alumni Association, and scholarships of more than $1.3 million for college and high school scholar-athletes. For more information, please visit www.footballfoundation.org.