Dillan Gibbons Named Wuerffel Trophy Finalist
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Florida State offensive lineman Dillan Gibbons is one of three finalists for the Wuerffel Trophy, it was announced Tuesday.
The Wuerffel Trophy, known as “College Football’s Premier Award for Community Service” is presented each February in Fort Walton Beach, Florida. Established in 2005 and named after 1996 Heisman Trophy winner Danny Wuerffel, the Wuerffel Trophy is presented annually to the FBS player who best combines exemplary community service with leadership achievement on and off the field.
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Gibbons, who is a member of the 2022 Allstate Good Works Team and winner of this year’s Jim Tatum Award as the ACC’s top senior football scholar-athlete, has established a non-profit foundation to raise funds for those in need. His foundation partners with collegiate ambassadors across college football and connects with charitable causes they are passionate about, including those with special medical needs, shopping with children in the community and repairing damage caused by natural disasters.
Gibbons has blocked for one of the most explosive and efficient offenses in the country this season as Florida State leads the nation with 88 plays of at least 20 yards and is second nationally with seven touchdown drives of at least 90 yards and with 15 touchdown drives of 80-plus yards. The Seminoles also lead the ACC and rank fourth nationally in third-down percentage, converting 51.9 percent of their opportunities, and have scored on 26 of 28 red zone possessions during their current five-game winning streak while ranking second in the conference with a 70.5 touchdown percentage this season in the red zone. FSU is one of three teams in the country, and the only team in the ACC, averaging at least 250 passing yards and at least 210 rushing yards per game.
The St. Petersburg native has helped pave the way for Florida State to rush for more than 200 yards in a school-record-tying seven consecutive games, the longest active streak in the nation and FSU’s longest streak since 1987. The Seminoles lead the ACC in yards per rush and rushing yards per game, averaging 5.50 yards per rush to rank ninth in the country, and gaining 217.8 yards per game, the 12th-highest average nationally. Florida State’s offense also is 10th in the country with an average of 6.86 yards per play, 14th gaining an average of 475.7 yards of total offense per game and 18th with an average of 36.2 points per game.
The winner of the Wuerffel Trophy will be announced during the ESPN Home Depot College Football Awards Show on December 8.
Gibbons is also a semifinalist for the Jason Witten Collegiate Man of the Year award and last season was named to the Uplifting Athletes Rare Disease Champion Team. He has two ACC Offensive Lineman of the Week honors, earning the recognition after this year’s 45-3 win at Miami and after last season’s 35-25 win at North Carolina.
*Press release courtesy of Florida State Athletics
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