IRVING, Texas - Gallaudet University senior kicker/punter Jonathon Waterman (Redding, Calif.) 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. Waterman is one of 201 semifinalists honored from the Football Bowl Subdivision, Football Championship Subdivision, Division II, Division III and NAIA. The record-setting 201 candidates comprise the list of semifinalists for the 2023 William V. Campbell Trophy, which recognizes an individual as the absolute best scholar-athlete in the nation.
Waterman is a three-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 2024. The kicker has played in 18 games since the 2021 season and tallied 86 points as he has made 12 field goals and 50 extra-point attempts. His career long field goal is a 45-yarder he made in 2022 at the University of New England. Waterman was named the 2022 Eastern Collegiate Football Conference (ECFC) Special Teams Player of the Year and was an all-conference first team kicker. Waterman was picked to the 2022 D3football.com All-Region 1 Second Team Offense. The two-time ECFC Academic Honor Roll honoree is on the 2023 Fred Mitchell Award watch list for the nation's best collegiate place-kicker among the FCS, Division II, Division III, NAIA and NJCAA football teams.
"Jonathon has been a consistent and reliable kicker and punter for us for the past three seasons," said Gallaudet head football coach Chuck Goldstein. "He has been a game changer and has left a lasting impression on the program."
Waterman, who is hard of hearing, is one of 48 nominees selected from Division III, and he is the only honoree from the ECFC. Gallaudet is the only football program from the District of Columbia represented among the 201 candidates.
Gallaudet has had 13 NFF National Scholar-Athlete semifinalists over the years including 12 in the past 13 years. The first came in 1992 when Jeffrey Kurz was bestowed the great honor while the second came 12 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), Timel Benton (2021) and Laron Thomas (2022).
Celebrating its 34th 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. 25, and each of them will receive an $18,000 postgraduate scholarship as a member of the 2023 NFF National Scholar-Athlete Class Presented by Fidelity Investments. The finalists will travel to the ARIA Resort & Casino in Las Vegas for the 65th NFF Annual Awards Dinner Presented by Las Vegas on Dec. 5, 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 34th Campbell Trophy® and have his postgraduate scholarship increased to $25,000.
"These 201 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. "During the past seven decades, the NFF National Scholar-Athlete Awards have recognized 906 college football players who excelled as the best our great sport has to offer. This year's semifinalists build on the tradition, further illustrating the power of football 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 (2020); Iowa State's Charlie Kolar (2021); Iowa's Jack Campbell (2022).
About NFF National Scholar-Athlete Awards
Launched in 1959, the NFF National Scholar-Athlete Awards Presented by Fidelity Investments celebrate their 65th year in 2023. 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 906 outstanding individuals since the program's inception. This year's postgraduate scholarships will push the program's all-time distribution to more than $12.6 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.
2023 NFF NATIONAL SCHOLAR-ATHLETE CANDIDATE NOTES
- 201 Semifinalists
- 65th Year of the NFF National Scholar-Athlete Program
- 3.65 Average GPA
- 121 Nominees who have already earned their bachelor's degree
- 5 Nominees who have earned a master's degree
- 10 Nominees with a 4.0 GPA
- 63 Nominees with a 3.8 GPA or better
- 85 Nominees with a 3.7 GPA or better
- 121 Captains
- 108 All-Conference Picks
- 24 Academic All-America Selections
- 24 All-Americans
- 89 Nominees from the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS)
- 39 Nominees from the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision (FCS)
- 15 Nominees from NCAA Division II
- 48 Nominees from NCAA Division III
- 10 Nominees from the NAIA
- 86 Offensive Players
- 99 Defensive Players
- 16 Special Teams Players
Gallaudet's NFF National Scholar-Athlete Award Semifinalists
2023: Jonathon Waterman (K/P)
2022: Laron Thomas (DB)
2021: Timel Benton (QB)
2020: Cress Fisher (OL)
2019: Matthew Cracraft (OL)
2018: Brad Peterson (DL)
2017: Devaron Scott (OL)
2016: Sean Fenton (OL)
2014: Nico Santiago (LB)
2013: Nicholas Elstad (DB)
2012: Denton Mallas (DB)
2011: Caleb Hinton (OL)
1992: Jeffrey Kurz (OL)
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