Trophy honors most outstanding walk-on for seventh year
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark., Nov. 1, 2016 – Today the Burlsworth Trophy and the Springdale (AR) Rotary Club, are excited to announce the 52 players nominated from Division 1 American offensive lineman. Burlsworth’s life is also the subject of a major motion picture, “GREATER”, which was released earlier this year. The Burlsworth Trophy is given to the most outstanding football player in American who began his career as a Walk-On and has shown outstanding performance on the field. Each nominee must have begun his first season of participation with a FBS (D1) football program without financial aid of any kind from his university’s athletic department.
The 2015 winner was quarterback Baker Mayfield from the University of Oklahoma. Mayfield is believed to be the only true freshman Walk-On QB in FBS history to start a season opener. He also led his Sooners to the college football playoffs last year.
The 2016 Burlsworth Trophy nominees are:
| School | Player | Year | Position |
| Arizona State | Mitchell Fraboni | JR | Long Snapper |
| Arkansas | Toby Baker | SR | Punter |
| Arkansas State | Johnston White | JR | Running Back |
| Bowling Green | Trent Greene | SR | Linebacker |
| Brigham Young University | Parker Dawe | SR | Offensive Lineman |
| Clemson | Greg Huegel | Soph | Placekicker |
| Colorado State | Jakob Buys | JR | Defensive Lineman |
| Connecticut | Justin Wain | SR | Punter |
| Eastern Michigan | Blake Banham | Soph | Running Back/Kick Returner |
| Florida | Mark Herndon | SR | Running Back |
| Florida Atlantic | Nate Ozdemir | JR | Linebacker |
| Houston | Dillon Birden | JR | Running Back |
| Indiana | Mitchell Paige | SR | Wide Receiver |
| Iowa | Riley McCarron | SR | Wide Receiver |
| Iowa State | Trever Ryen | JR | Wide Receiver/Punt Returner |
| Kansas State | Nick Walsh | JR | Punter |
| Kent State | Nick Cuthbert | SR | Linebacker |
| LSU | John David (J. D.) Moore | JR | Fullback |
| Marshall | Cody Carter | SR | Safety |
| Memphis | Anthony Miller | JR | Wide Receiver |
| Miami | Justin Vogel | SR | Punter |
| Middle Tennessee | Steven Rhodes | SR | Defensive End |
| Nebraska | Dylan Utter | SR | Center |
| Nevada | Jeremy Macauley | SR | Offensive Lineman |
| New Mexico | Jake Rothschiller | JR | Defensive Back |
| North Carolina | Nick Weiler | SR | Placekicker |
| Northwestern | Austin Carr | SR | Wide Receiver |
| Oklahoma | Baker Mayfield | JR | Quarterback |
| Old Dominion | T. J. Ricks | SR | Linebacker |
| Ole Miss | Carlos Davis | SR | Cornerback |
| Oregon State | Devin Chappell | SR | Safety |
| Rice | Zach Wright | SR | Wide Receiver |
| San Diego State | Daniel Brunskill | SR | Offensive Tackle |
| San Jose State | Tim Crawley | SR | Wide Receiver/Kick Returner |
| South Carolina | Hayden Hurst | Soph | Tight End |
| SMU | Jackson Mitchell | SR | Linebacker |
| Stanford | Conrad Ukropina | SR | Placekicker |
| Temple | Haason Reddick | SR | Defensive Lineman |
| Tennessee | Colton Jumper | JR | Linebacker |
| Texas | Dylan Haines | SR | Safety |
| Texas A&M | Shane Tripucka | JR | Punter |
| Toledo | Jack Linch | JR | Linebacker |
| Tulsa | Dalton Parks | SR | Punter |
| UCLA | Mike Lafaul | SR | Quarterback |
| USC | Zach Smith | SR | Long Snapper |
| Utah State | Austin Albrecht | SR | Offensive Tackle |
| Wake Forest | Grant Dawson | JR | Linebacker |
| Washington State | Luke Falk | JR | Quarterback |
| Western Kentucky | Max Halpin | SR | Center |
| Western Michigan | Trevor Sweeney | SR | Wide Receiver |
| Wisconsin | Dare Ogunbowle | SR | Running Back |
The 2015 winner was quarterback Baker Mayfield from the University of Oklahoma. Mayfield is believed to be the only true freshman Walk-On QB in FBS history to start a season opener. He also led his Sooners to the college football playoffs last year.
Without one D1 scholarship offer, Brandon Burlsworth walked on at the University of Arkansas in 1994. He became a three-year starter and was eventually named an All-American in 1998. Burlsworth was selected as the 63rd overall pick by the Indianapolis Colts in the 1999 NFL draft, but was tragically killed in a car accident 11 days later. The Burlsworth Foundation was created in his memory and supports the physical and spiritual needs of children, in particular those children who have limited opportunities.
Springdale Rotary Club will host an awards ceremony on Dec. 5th in Springdale, AR to honor the three finalists and to announce the 2016 winner.