Tannehill Receives National Scholar-Athlete Award
Oct 26, 2011 | Football
Texas A&M senior quarterback Ryan Tannehill was named one of 16 recipients of the National Football Foundation's Scholar-Athlete Awards, which also made him a finalist for the 2011 William V. Campbell Trophy, which recognizes an individual as the absolute best scholar-athlete in the nation.
Tannehill, from Big Spring, Texas, has future plans of being an orthopedic surgeon and has already earned his bachelor's degree in biology. With medical school in his future, Tannehill finished his degree with an impressive 3.63 grade point average and is currently taking graduate courses at Texas A&M.
Tannehill ranks among the national leaders in total offense and passing yards per game, as well as pass efficiency, and has led the No. 16-ranked Aggies to a 5-2 record this season. Tannehill has completed 165-of-253 passes (65.2 completion percentage) for 2005 yards and 15 touchdowns. Also the Aggies' third-leading rusher, the former wide receiver is generating 317.1 total yards per game.
Perhaps the most uniquely versatile player in NCAA history, Tannehill is the only Football Bowl Subdivision player in history to post 3,000 passing yards and 1,500 receiving yards in his career. He is also the only FBS player to post single game efforts of 400 passing yards and 200 receiving yards in his career.
Tannehill was selected from a nationwide pool of 127 semifinalists, and each finalist will receive an $18,000 postgraduate scholarship at the 54th NFF Annual Awards Dinner on December 6 at the Waldorf-Astoria in New York City. One of the 16 will be announced as the 22nd recipient of the William V. Campbell Trophy, which comes with a 25-pound bronze trophy and a $25,000 post-graduate scholarship. A total distribution of $300,000 in scholarships will be awarded that evening.
"This year's class is one of the best ever in the 53-year history of the program," said NFF President & CEO Steven J. Hatchell. "Their average GPA is a remarkable 3.81, setting a modern day record for the NFF National Scholar-Athlete Awards. Without exception, they are some of the finest student-athletes to ever set foot on the gridiron, and they serve as a prime example of football's unique ability to build leaders. Ensuring that they continue their education with an $18,000 postgraduate scholarship is a privilege, and we know that they have only begun to reach their potential."
The NFF's National Scholar-Athlete program, launched in 1959, is the first initiative in history to award scholar-athletes postgraduate scholarships for their combined athletic, academic and leadership abilities. This year's class members finds themselves in good company, as past National Scholar-Athletes include former NFL standout Derrick Brooks (Florida State); actor Mark Harmon (UCLA); NASA astronaut Leland Melvin (Richmond); former Dateline NBC anchor Stone Phillips (Yale); chairman of Augusta National Golf Club, home of the Masters Tournament, Billy Payne (Georgia); famed NFL quarterback Steve Young (BYU); and Heisman Trophy winners Terry Baker (Oregon State), Gary Beban (UCLA), Doug Flutie (Boston College) and Tim Tebow (Florida).
"The 2011 National Scholar-Athlete Class represents all that is right about college football," said NFF Chairman Archie Manning, whose sons Peyton (Campbell winner) and Eli were NFF National Scholar-Athletes in 1997 and 2003, respectively. "They have displayed the same competitive fire to win in the classroom that has distinguished them as some of the best football players in the country. In addition, each has found time to give back with an impressive list of leadership roles in their respective communities. Our goal in recognizing them is that future football players will be inspired to follow their example."
| 2011 NFF National Scholar-Athlete Award Winners | ||||
| Scholar-Athlete | Position | School | GPA | Major |
| Drew Buter | P | Georgia | 3.62 | Telecommunication Arts |
| Kirk Cousins | QB | Michigan State | 3.68 | Kinesiology |
| Micah Davis | QB | Delta State (Miss.) | 4.00 | Chemistry |
| John Dowd | OG | Navy | 3.91 | Mechanical Engineering |
| Yaser Elqutub | LB | Northwestern State | 3.85 | Scientific Inquiry |
| Chris Ganious | RB | South Dakota | 3.81 | Psychology |
| Clay Garcia | QB | Col. School of Mines | 3.91 | Mechanical Engineering |
| Chandler Harnish | QB | Northern Illinois | 3.65 | Business Management |
| Tysyn Hartman | DB | Kansas State | 3.57 | Finance |
| Chaz Hine | OL | South Florida | 3.86 | Business Management |
| Joe Holland | LB | Purdue | 3.96 | Movement & Sports Sciences |
| Jared Karstetter | WR | Washington State | 3.61 | Zoology |
| Andrew Rodriguez | LB | Army | 4.14 | Mechanical Engineering |
| Ryan Tannehill | QB | Texas A&M | 3.63 | Biology |
| Patrick Witt | QB | Yale | 3.91 | History |
| Michael Zweifel | WR | Dubuque (Iowa) | 3.90 | Health, Wellness & Recreation |
2011 NFF National Scholar-Athlete Class Highlights
- 3.81 Average GPA
- 14-of-16 Team Captains
- 14-of-16 Academic All-Conference Athletes (with two players attending independent schools)
- 11-of-16 All-Conference Athletes (with two players attending independent schools)
- Five ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America Selections (Butler, Dowd, Ganious, Garcia, Holland)
- Four All-America Picks (Butler, Garcia, Tannehill, Zweifel)
- One Rhodes Scholar Nominee (Witt)
- One National Award Winner (Butler, 2009 Ray Guy)
- Eight School Statistical Record Holders (Butler, Cousins, Davis, Garcia, Harnish, Tannehill, Witt, Zweifel)
- Six Members of Nationally Ranked Teams (Butler, Cousins, Davis, Ganious, Hartman, Tannehill)
- Two Members of National Playoff Teams (Davis, Garcia)
- 11 Offensive Players (Cousins, Davis, Dowd, Ganious, Garcia, Harnish, Hine, Karstetter, Tannehill, Witt, Zweifel)
- Four Defensive Players (Elqutub, Hartman, Holland, Rodriguez)
- One Special Teams Player (Butler)
Nominated by their schools, which are limited to one nominee each, candidates must be a senior or graduate student in their final year of eligibility, have a grade point average of at least 3.2 on a 4.0 scale, have outstanding football ability as a first team player and have demonstrated strong leadership and citizenship. The 127 semifinalists for the award were announced on Sept. 29 (names listed on the following page), and 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.
In addition to the presentation of the NFF National Scholar-Athlete Awards and the William V. Campbell Trophy, the 54th NFF Annual Awards Dinner will include the induction of the 2011 College Football Hall of Fame Class and the presentation of several major awards, including the organization's highest honor, the Gold Medal, to former U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates and the Distinguished American Award to world-renowned heart surgeon Dr. Archie Roberts.
RYAN TANNEHILL
Quarterback, Texas A&M University
Biology - 3.63 GPA
Head Coach: Mike Sherman
Athletics Director: Bill Byrne
A versatile athlete that has helped revitalize the Texas A&M football program, Ryan Tannehill has found success at quarterback and wide receiver for the Aggies while maintaining an impressive 3.63 GPA in the classroom. He becomes the school's fifth NFF National Scholar-Athlete and first since 1990.
A three-time First Team Academic All-Big 12 scholar, Tannehill graduated cum laude with a degree in biology and plans to study medicine after his football career is complete. The 2010 CoSIDA/ESPN Academic All-District selection has been named an A&M Athletics Scholar four times; a member of the Big 12 Commissioner's Honor Roll four times and received the "Outstanding Scholar" designation from Texas A&M for posting a 4.0 GPA.
Tannehill began his career as a record-breaking and all-conference wide receiver before moving to quarterback in the middle of last season. As the signal caller in 2010, he completed 152-of-234 passes for 1,638 yards, 16 touchdowns and six interceptions. His insertion sparked the Aggies to a 6-1 finish, including wins over No. 8 Oklahoma and No. 8 Nebraska, taking Texas A&M to its first New Year's Day bowl game since the 2004 season and first finish inside the AP Top 25 since 1999. The Davey O'Brien National Quarterback Award semifinalist currently ranks 11th nationally in total offense, completing 165-of-253 passes for 2,005 yards with 15 touchdowns and six interceptions (a 146.6 passer rating) while rushing 34 times for 215 yards and three touchdowns for the 16th-ranked Aggies. Tannehill, a 2011 finalist for the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award, is the only player in FBS history with a 400-yard passing game and a 200-yard receiving game to his credit, and the only player to record more than 3,000 passing yards and more than 1,500 receiving yards in his career.
A member of Aggie Athletes Involved, Tannehill has spoken to numerous schools and churches in his community, and he led chapel services for high school quarterbacks attending Texas A&M's summer camp. He also helped lead a fundraiser to purchase Christmas presents for children residing at Twin City Mission in College Station.
