From Washington University Athletics
For the second consecutive year, graduate student Andrew Whitaker has been named a semifinalist for William V. Campbell Trophy, the National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame (NFF) recently announced.
Whitaker is one of 176 semifinalists across all NCAA Divisions and the NAIA, including 39 from Division III.
"These 176 impressive candidates truly represent the scholar-athlete ideal," said NFF Chairman Archie Manning. "For more than 60 years, the NFF National Scholar-Athlete Awards have honored more than 800 college football players who have been successful on the football field, in the classroom and as leaders in the community. This year's semifinalists further illustrate the power of our great sport in developing the next generation of influential leaders."
The Campbell Trophy, in its 32nd year, recognizes an individual as the absolute best football scholar-athlete in the nation for his combined academic success, football performance and exemplary leadership. In order to be nominated, candidates must be a senior or graduate student in their final year of playing eligibility, have a GPA of at least 3.2, have outstanding football ability as a starter or significant contributor and have demonstrated strong leadership and citizenship.
Whitaker recently earned a degree in Biomedical Engineering, graduating with a 3.65 grade-point average, and is currently pursuing a master's degree in the same area.
Since stepping foot on the Danforth Campus in 2017, Whitaker has made an impact both on and off the field.
Whitaker has played in 31 games thus far, starting 22 of them, primarily as a defensive back. For his career, Whitaker has recorded 79 tackles and 24 assists which is an average of 3.3 tackles per game. He has recorded six tackles for a loss, one forced fumble, three interceptions, 14 pass breakups and five blocks.
Whitaker was named Second Team All-CCIW in 2019 and was a Campbell Trophy semifinalist in 2020. In 2021, he was honored with the inaugural Fritz Pollard Trophy which is given to a college football player who has exemplified extraordinary courage, community values and exceptional performance on the field.
In addition to his football achievements, Whitaker in an accomplished track and field athlete for the Bears, winning the 2019 NCAA DIII Outdoor Track and Field 4x400 national title. He is a three-time indoor track and field All-American as well as a two-time UAA indoor track and field champion and four-time UAA outdoor track and field champion.
Outside of athletics, Whitaker has been heavily involved on campus and in the community.
He has been part of Bear Cubs, an organization that runs with kids on the autism spectrum, as well as Dance CPSR, which is an organization that dances with kids who have cerebral palsy.
Additionally, Whitaker was part of a medical brigade in Honduras, where he traveled there for eight days and assisted 1,200 patients. He aided doctors with medical diagnosis, dental fillings, dental extractions and prescription glasses as well as building eco-stoves to reduce asthma in homes. Whitaker served as the treasurer as well as the public relations chair.
Whitaker has been an active member of the Washington University Black Letterwinning Athletes Coalition (WU BLAC) which is an organization dedicated to empowering Black student-athletes at WashU by creating a community with a culture of personal growth and professional development in alliance with the athletic department and the greater WashU community. Whitaker has served as the co-community outreach coordinator for WU BLAC.
In the summer of 2018, Whitaker took part in an internship with the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America. He assisted in the organization's community outreach presentations to various schools in the community, parents and the public.
In addition, Whitaker was part of the McKelvey Takes Responsibility Campaign which was a committee to improve the WashU engineering environment and make it more inclusive and safe for current and future students of color.
Whitaker is a Gephardt Civic Scholar, an Annika Rodriguez Scholar, earned the Omego Psi Phi Rising Stars Scholarship and was honored with the WashU Distinguished Service Award for Biomedical Engineering.
In the spring of 2021, Whitaker was featured in the UAA series "Conversations About Race and Racism," which was a series that sought to lift the voices of people of color and recognize the challenges faced in both athletics and academics at the collegiate level.
The NFF will announce 12-14 finalists on October 27 and each of them will receive an $18,000 postgraduate scholarship as a member of the 2021 NFF National Scholar-Athlete Class Presented by Fidelity Investments. A dinner to honor those finalists will be held in Las Vegas on December 7 and during that time, one member of the class will be announced as the recipient of the 32nd Campbell Trophy and have his scholarship increased to $25,000.