NEW ORLEANS—Texas A&M senior offensive lineman Jake Matthews, a consensus All-American, has been named a finalist for the Bobby Bowden Award, presented by the Fellowship of Christian Athletes to a FBS player who best epitomizes the student-athlete.
Matthews has made 45 consecutive starts on the Texas A&M offensive line entering the Chick-fil-A Bowl game in Atlanta against Duke on Dec. 31. The Missouri City, Texas, native was a finalist for the Outland Trophy presented annually to the nation's outstanding interior lineman. A versatile player, Matthews could play any position along the offensive front and he held down the right tackle position his first three years before flipping to the left tackle slot his senior season. He is also the deep snapper on PAT and field goals for the Aggies.
Matthews completed his course work on his undergraduate degree with better than a 3.0 GPA in the Mays College of Business. He finished in three and one-half years, and is projected to be one of the top players selected in the 2014 NFL Draft.
Other finalists for the Bobby Bowden Award include Ole Miss punter Tyler Campbell, Arizona linebacker Jake Fischer, Oklahoma offensive lineman Gabe Ikard, Oklahoma State linebacker Shaun Lewis and Alabama wide receiver Kevin Norwood join Matthews as finalists for the prestigious award.
Matthews will try and become the second Texas A&M player to win the award as Aggie quarterback Stephen McGee was named the 2008 winner. It would mark the second player under head coach Kevin Sumlin to win the award as Houston quarterback Case Keenum was named the 2011 recipient.
Matthews and his younger Mike, who happens to be the starting sophomore center for the Aggie football team were featured in the FCA Magazine earlier this season. Both young men are the sons of NFL Hall of Fame offensive lineman Bruce Matthews.
The Bobby Bowden award recognizes the Football Bowl Subdivision player who epitomizes a student-athlete. He must conduct himself as a faith model in the classroom, on the field, on the campus and in the community. To win, he must also have the backing of his school's Athletic Director and Head Football coach.
The award is named after former Florida State University football head coach Bobby Bowden. It was conceived by Vince Gibson, a former Bowden assistant at South Georgia College who went on to become head coach at Kansas State, Louisville and Tulane long before he passed away in 2012 from Lou Gehrig's disease; and Vernon Brinson, one of Bowden's former players at South Georgia College in the 1950s.
The Award is sponsored by The Seminole Tribe of Florida.
The 2013 Bobby Bowden Award winner will be announced at the FCA Bowl Championship Breakfast site in Irvine, California on January 3, 2014. Past winners are:
2003      Jason Wright                        Northwestern University
2004      Billy Bajema                        Oklahoma State University
2005      D. J. Shockley                      University of Georgia
2006      Carl Pendleton                     University of Oklahoma
2007      Jacob Tamme                       University of Kentucky
2008      Stephen McGee                 Texas A&M
2009      Colt McCoy                         University of Texas
2010      Christian Ponder                  Florida State University
2011      Case Keenum                       University of Houston
2012      Ashton Richardson              Auburn University
The following is a list of the nominees in alphabetical order.
Ryan Alderman                      Temple University
Chris Burnette                        University of Georgia
Tyler Campbell                       Univeristy of Mississippi
Richie Casey                          Louisiana Tech
Chandler Catanzaro               Clemson Univeristy
Joseph Fazio                           Ball State Univeristy
Jake Fischer                            University of Arizona
Cam Gordon                          University of Michigan
Andrew Green                      University of Nebraska
Derrick Hopkins                     Virginia Tech
Lamarcus Joyner                    Florida State Univeristy
Rob Henry                             Purdue University
Gabe Ikard                             University of Oklahoma
Jon Koontz                             Texas Christian
Shaun Lewis                          Oklahoma State University
Jamie Markosian                    Utah State Univeristy
Jordan McCray                      University of Central Florida
Kirby Moore                          Boise State
Conner O'Neil                      University of Wisconsin
Kevin Norwood                     University of Alabama
Tanner Price                           Wake Forest
Brett Van Sloten                    University of Iowa
Christian Smith                      University of Toledo
Alex Zordich                          State Univeristy of New York – Buffalo
About FCA:
The Fellowship of Christian Athletes is touching millions of lives… one heart at a time. Since 1954, the Fellowship of Christian Athletes has been challenging coaches and athletes on the professional, college, high school, junior high and youth levels to use the powerful medium of athletics to impact the world for Jesus Christ. FCA focuses on serving local communities by equipping, empowering and encouraging people to make a difference for Christ.
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