Florida A&M senior punter, Chris Faddoul, was named a semifinalist for the William V. Campbell Trophy presented by Mazda, announced by the National Football Foundation and College Football Hall of Fame on Thursday.
Faddoul is one of a record 199 semifinalist candidates for the coveted award.
Celebrating its 31st year, the award recognizes an individual as the absolute best football scholar-athlete in the nation for his combined academic success, football performance, and exemplary leadership. The NFF will announce 12-to-14 finalists in November, and each of them will receive an $18,000 postgraduate scholarship as a member of the 2020 NFF National Scholar-Athlete Class Presented by Fidelity Investments. Later this year, one member of the class will be declared as the winner of the 31st Campbell Trophy® Presented by Mazda, having his postgraduate scholarship increased to $25,000 and receiving his own 25-pound-bronze version of the iconic statue.
Faddoul, a native of Wesley Chapel, Fla, has been a standout on and off the field for the Rattlers throughout his career. In the classroom, he’s maintained a 3.85 GPA while majoring in biology. Faddoul has twice been named to the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Commissioner’s All-Academic Team (2019, 2020) and earned MEAC All-Academic Football honors in 2018.
Faddoul also served as a volunteer while at FAMU. He spent two weeks in Lebanon where he volunteered at the International Orphanage. He’s also participated in various initiatives alongside his teammates by visiting veteran’s hospitals and clinics, visiting elementary schools, and assisting in post-hurricane relief duties.
On the field, Faddoul has solidified himself as one of the nation’s elite punters. He’s been named an All-American two times and has earned All-MEAC honors ever year he’s suited up for Florida A&M.
In 2018, he led the nation (FCS) in punting, averaging 46.8 yards per punt on 41 punts, including a long of 67 against Bethune-Cookman. For his career, he’s booted 126 punts, averaging 44 yards per kick while downing 52 inside the 20-yard line.
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 playing 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 award is named in honor of the late Bill Campbell, former chairman of Intuit, former player and head coach at Columbia University, and the 2004 recipient of the NFF’s Gold Medal.
Courtesy: FAMU Athletics
