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Gallaudet defensive back Denton Mallas selected as NFF candidate for the NFF National Scholar-Athlete Awards
DALLAS – Gallaudet University senior
defensive back Denton
Mallas (South Milwaukee, Wis.) was selected as one of
the best and brightest from the college gridiron as announced by
The National Football Foundation (NFF) and College Hall of Fame on
Thursday. Mallas is one of 147 candidates honored from the Football
Bowl Subdivision, Football Championship Subdivision, Division II,
Division III and NAIA. From the pool of 147 candidates the NFF
Awards Committee will select up to 16 recipients to be named to the
2012 NFF National Scholar-Athlete Awards, presented by Fidelity
Investments. The 147 nominees also comprise the list of
semifinalists for the 2012 William V. Campbell Trophy, which
recognizes an individual as the absolute best scholar-athlete in
the nation.
"This is a tremendous honor for Denton and for Gallaudet
University. He has been an incredibly hard worker and he has
contributed significantly on special teams," said third-year
Gallaudet head football coach Chuck Goldstein. "It
is great to see a young man who puts in the amount of effort he
does, both in the classroom and on the field receive such a
prestigious honor."
Mallas is a four-year letterwinner in football at Gallaudet and
has twice been named to the Eastern Collegiate Football Conference
(ECFC) All-Academic team. On the field, Mallas appeared in eight
games in each of his three previous seasons as a Bison football
player; he has appeared in all three games so far this season.
Mallas, a History major, is slated to graduate May 2013.
"This year's candidates truly embody the National Football
Foundation's mission of building leaders through football," said
NFF Chairman Archie Manning whose sons Peyton
(1997 Campbell Trophy winner) and Eli were named NFF National
Scholar-Athletes in 1997 and 2003, respectively. "They are
standouts in the classroom and on the field and have become leaders
in their respective communities. Each school should take great
pride in being represented by such well-rounded young men who will
undoubtedly go on to do great things in life."
Nominated by their schools, which are limited to one nominee each,
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 outstanding football ability as a first team player
or significant contributor, and have demonstrated strong leadership
and citizenship. 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 for maintaining such high standards throughout their
collegiate careers," said NFF President & CEO Steven J.
Hatchell. "We are extremely proud to showcase their
achievements, and there is no question that the NFF Awards
Committee will have an incredibly difficult task in selecting the
final group of honorees from among this esteemed group."
The NFF Awards Committee will select up to 16 recipients, and the
results will be announced via a national press release on Thursday,
October 25. Each recipient will receive an $18,000 postgraduate
scholarship, and they will vie as finalists for the 2012 William V.
Campbell Trophy. Each member of the 2012 National Scholar-Athlete
Class will also travel to New York City and be honored December 6
during the 55th NFF Annual Awards Dinner at the Waldorf=Astoria
where their accomplishments will be highlighted in front of one of
the most powerful audiences in all of sports. One member of the
class will also be announced live at the event as the winner of the
Campbell Trophy.
Previous winners of the Campbell Trophy include Florida's
Danny Wuerffel (1996), Tennessee's Peyton
Manning (1997), Marshall's Chad
Pennington (1999), Ohio State's Craig
Krenzel (2003) and most recently Florida's Tim
Tebow (2009) and Texas' Sam Acho (2010)
to name a few of the college football standouts that have received
this prestigious award since 1990.
Mallas is one of 41 nominees selected from Division III, which has
the largest pool of teams (239) to choose from, and he is the only
nominee that hails from the Eastern Collegiate Football Conference.
Gallaudet is the only football program from D.C. represented among
the 147 candidates.
Gallaudet has only had two other NFF Scholar-Athlete honorees over
the years. The first came in 1992 when Jeffrey
Kurz was bestowed the great honor and the second came just
last year when Caleb Hinton's academic and
athletic prowess was recognized.
About NFF National Scholar-Athlete Awards
The NFF National Scholar-Athlete Awards, presented by Fidelity
Investments, was established in 1959 as the first initiative in
history to honor scholar-athletes with post-graduate scholarships
for their combined athletic, academic and leadership
abilities.
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 121 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. The NFF
presents the MacArthur Bowl, the William V. Campbell Trophy,
endowed by HealthSouth, and releases the Bowl Championship Series
(BCS) Standings. For more information, please visit www.footballfoundation.org.
2012 NFF NATIONAL SCHOLAR-ATHLETE CANDIDATE NOTES
- 3.57 Average GPA
- 29 nominees with a 3.80 GPA or better
- 91 Team Captains
- 74 All-Conference Picks
- 21 Academic All-America Selections
- 14 All-America Selections
- 50 Nominees from the Football Bowl Subdivision
- 35 Nominees from the Football Championship Subdivision
- 12 Nominees from the Division II
- 41 Nominees from the Division III
- 9 Nominees from the NAIA
- 68 Offensive Players
- 53 Defensive Players
- 26 Special Teams Players
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