Four young men who are likely to be valedictorians of their senior classes are among the six high school football standouts chosen as finalists for the 2011 Scholar-Athlete of the Year Award. It is presented annually by the National Football Foundation's Joe Tiller Chapter of Northwest Indiana.
Jesse Dority of Clinton Prairie High School, Sam Ficken of Valparaiso, Alex Hegg of Seeger Memorial, Spencer Murphy of North Miami, Kyle Patton of West Lafayette and Dustin Rivich of Michigan City were named as the six finalists for the prestigious award. The winner will be announced June 16 during the annual NFF Honors Dinner at the Purdue Memorial Union Ballrooms. Hegg, Murphy, Patton and Rivich are the top ranked students academically at their respective schools. The NFF award is based 40 percent on academics, 40 percent on athletics and 20 percent on citizenship, leadership and character.
The six finalists were chosen from a field of 24 scholar-athletes who were nominated earlier this year by their schools from throughout the 18-county region of Northwest Indiana. The announcement was made Mar. 6 at the chapter's Scholar-Athlete Banquet at Valparaiso University's Harre Union Ballroom. Each nominee receives scholarship assistance from the NFF
In addition to receiving their first round of scholarship checks from the chapter, the nominees and their families were treated to some "words of wisdom" from three former college All-Americans, representing the "big three" of Indiana. Purdue University quarterback Mark Herrmann, Indiana University running back Tom Nowatzke and Notre Dame tailback Allen Pinkett signed autographs and were guest speakers at the event.
"We are pleased that these three great All-Americans were able to join us for the inaugural event for our chapter in this part of the region," says chapter president Bart Burrell. "We expect this event to generate interest in the NFF in the form of new memberships while delivering support for Tom, Allen and others from our area in the Hall of Fame selection process this year and in future years."
Pinkett came to Notre Dame from Sterling, Va., and became a two-time All-American in 1984 and '85, setting the Fighting Irish's all-time touchdown record with 53 (a mark that still stands) and was ND's career rushing leader with 4,131yards, a mark that stood until 1998. He played seven years in the National Football League with two different teams (Houston and New Orleans) and now lives in Valparaiso, working as a national account manager for a reconstruction company and serving as color commentator for Notre Dame football radio broadcasts.
Nowatzke, who starred as a running back for Michigan City Elston High School, Indiana University and two NFL teams (Detroit and Baltimore) in the 1960s and 70s, ran for 1,500 yards and scored 136 points at Indiana, earning first team All-America status in 1964. He is being promoted as a top candidate in the selection process, nearing his final year of eligibility, for the College Football Hall of Fame. Nowatzke built a successful career in the trucking industry in the Ann Arbor/Detroit area of Michigan, where he lives.
Herrmann, who starred as a quarterback for Carmel High School, Purdue and four NFL teams (including Indianapolis) in the 1970s, 80s and 90s, set an NCAA passing record with 9,946 career yards and had 71 touchdown passes for the Boilermakers, earning All-America status in 1980. He was voted into the College Football Hall of Fame last year and will be enshrined in South Bend in July. After football, Herrmann has been a program director for the NCAA and now works with Peyton Manning's Project 18 for St. Vincent's Hospital in Indianapolis.
Along with the All-America trio, university head coaches Dale Carlson of Valparaiso and Danny Hope of Purdue also spoke.
Besides the six scholar-athlete award finalists, the 18 other high school football players nominated this year were: Austin Atherton (Crown Point), Jonathan Bush (Carroll), Keisten Childers (Knox), Cody Christopher (Lafayette Central Catholic), Arion Clanton (East Chicago Central), Austin Colby (Kokomo), Daniel Falloon (Munster), Tyler Hanson (River Forest), Brant Hartman (Caston), Tanner Hess (Logansport), Garrett Howe (Twin Lakes), Justin Hunt (Maconaquah), Derek Mumaw (Northwestern), Alex Niccum (McCutcheon), Kramer Phalen (Lake Central), Tanner Pierce (Fountain Central), Joel Ripke (Lafayette Jefferson) and Alec Stuard (Frankfort).
The cumulative grade point average of this year's 24 nominees was 3.64 (equated to a 4.0 scale) and many of the players were named to all-conference, all-region and all-state teams.
"This is just an outstanding group of young men," says Burrell. "The members of our scholarship committee, who serve as judges, have a very difficult task ahead to select one winner to represent our chapter. So far, they have narrowed the process to the top six by carefully reviewing all the nomination forms, academic records and letters of recommendation. They are very impressed with the quality of our nominees this year."
The Joe Tiller Chapter is developing a reputation for producing top scholar-athletes. Each of the last two years, this chapter's Scholar-Athlete of the Year has advanced on to be named Midwest Scholar-Athlete of the Year, earning a trip to New York City in early December to attend the NFF's prestigious Awards Luncheon and Dinner at the fabled Waldorf-Astoria Hotel. That distinction went to Matt Lancaster of West Lafayette High School in 2009 and Daniel Wodicka of West Lafayette in 2010, marking the first time in NFF history that back-to-back regional winners have come from the same high school.
