Virginia free safety Quin Blanding was named to the 2017 preseason Wuerffel Trophy Watch List, announced the All Sports Association on Tuesday (July 18).
The Wuerffel Trophy, known as “College Football’s Premier Award for Community Service,” is presented annually by the All Sports Association in Fort Walton Beach, Fla. Named after 1996 Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Danny Wuerffel from the University of Florida, the Wuerffel Trophy is awarded to the FBS player that best combines exemplary community service with athletic and academic achievement. There are 108 FBS players on this year’s watch list.
Blanding has previously been named this summer to the 2017 Bednarik Award, Nagurski, Thorpe and Lott IMPACT Trophy Watch List. Blanding is also UVA’s nominee for the Allstate Good Works team.
Blanding (Virginia Beach, Va.) was named a Sporting News and Sports Illustrated second-team All-American in 2016. A two-time first-team All-ACC honoree, Blanding started all 12 games for UVA in 2016 and finished the year No. 2 in the ACC and No. 9 in the nation with 10.0 tackles per game. Blanding has finished the past three seasons No. 2 in the ACC in tackles and his 358 career stops currently ranks No. 9 all-time in the UVA annals.
Nominations for the Wuerffel Trophy are made by the respective universities’ sports information departments and will close on October 13, only one per school. A current list of nominees can be found at www.wuerffeltrophy.org beginning August 1. Semifinalists for the award will be announced on Nov. 2 and finalists will be announced onNovember 22.
The formal announcement of the 2017 recipient will be made at the National Football Foundation’s press conference in New York City on December 5.
The presentation of the 2017 Wuerffel Trophy will occur at the 49th Annual All Sports Association Awards Banquet on Feb. 16, 2018 in Fort Walton Beach, Fla.
The Wuerffel Trophy is a member of the National College Football Awards Association (NCFAA) which encompasses the most prestigious awards in college football. The 23 awards boast more than 800 years of tradition-selection excellence. Visit www.NCFAA.org to learn more about our story.
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