Three Mountaineers Named to the Wuerffel Watch List
On Wednesday, three West Virginia University Mountaineers were named to the Wuerffel Trophy Award Watch List announced by the organization, including senior quarterback Jarrett Doege safety Sean Mahone and kicker Evan Staley.
The Wuerffel Trophy, known as "College Football's Premier Award for Community Service," is presented each February in Fort Walton Beach, Florida. Named after 1996 Heisman Trophy winning quarterback from the University of Florida, Danny Wuerffel, the Wuerffel Trophy exists to honor college football players who serve others, celebrate their positive impact on society and inspire greater service in the world.
All three are involved in team community service initiatives, and Mahone and Addae are WVU football accountability teams leaders. Activities that these players and their teammates could be involved in include visiting their friends at WVU Medicine Children’s regularly and serving as mentors, assisting the Mountaineer Day of Play to encourage an active and healthy lifestyle for children, reading at schools, community cleanup days, building and repairing houses for people in the community and serving as a Big Brothers just to name a few of their activities.
Doege, a 2020 All-Big 12 Second Team selection by PFF College and a fourth-team honoree by Phil Steele’s Magazine, started all 10 games last year and completed 239-of-374 passes for 2,587 yards and 14 touchdowns with only four interceptions. He threw for 300 or more yards in four games and completed multiple touchdowns in four games.
Mahone, a 2020 CoSIDA Academic All-American Second Team member and four-time Academic All-Big 12 First Team honoree, started 12 games at Cat Safety in 2019 and 2020. Mahone, an All-Big 12 Conference second team selection by PFF College, started all 10 games at safety for WVU in 2020. The four-time Academic All-Big 12 selection was the Mountaineers fifth-leading tackler with 54 stops, including 34 solo tackles and two tackles for loss. He also had four pass breakups, an interception and a fumble recovery. Mahone led WVU in tackles as a junior with 80 stops, including two sacks, five tackles for loss, a forced fumble, an interception and a pass breakup.
Staley, a four-time Academic All-Big 12 First Team honoree, is a three-year starting kicker for the Mountaineers, handling kickoffs, extra points and field goals. In 2020, he kicked for six games until he sustained a season-ending knee injury against Kansas State. He connected on 6-of-9 field goals with a long of 45 yards and had 24 kickoffs, averaging 60.3 yards per kickoff. He was 2-of-2 at Oklahoma State and at Texas Tech and had a season-long field goal (45) at Texas Tech.
Nominations for the Wuerffel Trophy are made by the respective universities' sports information departments and will close on Oct. 15. An up to date list of nominees can be found at www.wuerffeltrophy.org beginning on Aug. 1. Semifinalists for the award will be announced on November 2 and finalists will be announced on Nov. 22.
The formal announcement of the 2021 recipient will be made on Dec. 9 and the presentation of the 2021 Wuerffel Trophy will occur in Feb. 2022 in Fort Walton Beach.
2021 Weurffel Trophy Watch List
Thomas Hennigan, Appalachian State University, Senior, Wide Receiver
Jackson He, Arizona State University, Junior, Running Back
Andre Harris, Jr., Arkansas State University, Junior, Offensive Line
Nick Brahms, Auburn University, Senior, Offensive Line
Bryce Cosby, Ball State University, Senior, Defensive Back
Brandon Martin, Ball State University, Senior, Linebacker
Byron Hanspard, Jr., Baylor University, Junior, Defensive Back
Kekaula Kaniho, Boise State University, Senior, Defensive Back
James Empey, Brigham Young University, Junior, Offensive Line
Darien Rencher, Clemson University, Senior, Running Back
Kennedy Roberts, Coastal Carolina University, Junior, Defensive Line
A’Jon Vivens, Colorado State University, Junior, Running Back
Jake Bobo, Duke University, Senior, Wide Receiver/Special Teams
Holton Ahlers, East Carolina University, Senior, Quarterback
Tariq Speights, Eastern Michigan University, Senior, Linebacker
Camren McDonald, Florida State University, Junior, Tight End
Juanyeh Thomas, Georgia Institute of Technology, Junior, Defensive Back
Michael Ziemba, Indiana University, Senior, Linebacker
Brock Purdy, Iowa State University, Senior, Quarterback
Skylar Thompson, Kansas State University, Senior, Quarterback
Isaac Vance, Kent State University, Senior, Wide Receiver
Sam Allan, Kent State University, Senior, Offensive Line
Damone Clark, Louisiana State University, Senior, Linebacker
Joshua Mote, Louisiana Tech University, Junior, Offensive Line
Reeves Blankenship, Louisiana Tech University, Junior, Long Snapper
Alex Mollette, Marshall University, Senior, Offensive Line
Reed Blankenship, Middle Tennessee State University, Senior, Defensive Back
Austin Williams, Mississippi State University, Senior, Wide Receiver
Sage Doxtater, New Mexico State University, Senior, Offensive Line
Isaiah Moore, North Carolina State University, Senior, Linebacker
Joe Spivak, Northwestern University, Senior, Defensive Line
Ryan Hilinski, Northwestern University, Sophomore., Quarterback
Harry Miller, Ohio State University, Junior, Offensive Line
Jordan Young, Old Dominion University, Senior, Linebacker
Jaydon Grant, Oregon State University, Junior, Defensive Back
Sean Clifford, Pennsylvania State University, Senior, Quarterback
Ikenna Enechukwu, Rice University, Sophomore, Defensive Line
Tysyn Parker, San Jose State University, Senior, Linebacker
Shaine Hailey, Southern Methodist University, Senior, Linebacker
Isaiah Sanders, Stanford University, Senior, Quarterback
Kingsley Jonathan, Syracuse University, Senior, Defensive Line
Re-Al Mitchell, Temple University, Sophomore, Quarterback
Keldrick Carper, Texas A&M University, Senior, Defensive Back
Obinna Eze, Texas Christian University, Junior, Offensive Line
Tyler Vitt, Texas State University, Junior, Quarterback
Tony Bradford, Jr., Texas Tech University, Junior, Defensive Line
Luke Whittemore, Troy University, Junior, Wide Receiver
Nick Anderson, Tulane University, Junior, Linebacker
Bubba Arslanian, University of Akron, Junior, Linebacker
Chris Owens, University of Alabama, Senior, Offensive Line
Colby Ragland, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Senior, Offensive Line
Bryce Wolma, University of Arizona, Senior, Tight End
Jordan Silver, University of Arkansas, Senior, Long Snapper
Michael Saffell, University of California, Senior, Offensive Line
Nate Landman, University of Colorado, Senior, Linebacker
Brian Keating, University of Connecticut, Senior, Long Snapper
Zachary Carter, University of Florida, Senior, Defensive Line
Nakobe Dean, University of Georgia, Junior, Linebacker
Hekili Keliiliki, University of Hawai’i, Junior, Running Back/Linebacker
Marcus Jones, University of Houston, Senior, Defensive Back/Special Teams
Michael Marchese, University of Illinois, Senior, Tight End
Kaevon Merriweather, University of Iowa, Junior, Defensive Back
Kwamie Lassiter II, University of Kansas, Senior, Wide Receiver
Kenneth Horsey, University of Kentucky, Junior, Offensive Line
Levi Lewis, University of Louisiana, Senior, Quarterback
Brian Cobbs, University of Maryland, Senior, Wide Receiver
Preston Brady, University of Memphis, Senior, Long Snapper
Tanner Morgan, University of Minnesota, Senior, Quarterback
Mac Brown, University of Mississippi, Senior, Punter
Tyler Badie, University of Missouri, Senior, Running Back
Ben Stille, University of Nebraska, Senior, Defensive Line
Peter Agabe, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Senior, Linebacker
Myron Tagovailoa-Amosa, University of Notre Dame, Senior, Defensive Line
Pat Fields, University of Oklahoma, Senior, Defensive Back
Cal Adomitis, University of Pittsburgh, Senior, Long Snapper
Deslin Alexandre, University of Pittsburgh, Senior, Defensive Line
Keith Gallmon, University of South Alabama, Junior, Defensive Back
Spencer Eason-Riddle, University of South Carolina, Senior, Linebacker
Matthew Butler, University of Tennessee, Senior, Defensive Line
Hunter Duplessis, University of Texas at San Antonio, Senior, Kicker
Bailey Flint, University of Toledo, Senior, Punter
Chris Paul, University of Tulsa, Senior, Offensive Line
Mika Tafua, University of Utah, Junior, Defensive Line
Race Porter, University of Washington, Senior, Punter
Faion Hicks, University of Wisconsin, Senior, Defensive Back
Calvin Tyler, Jr., Utah State University, Junior, Running Back
Elijah McAllister, Vanderbilt University, Senior, Linebacker
Brock Hoffman, Virginia Tech University, Junior, Offensive Line
Tyriq Hardimon, Wake Forest University, Junior, Defensive Back
Evan Staley, West Virginia University, Senior, Kicker
Jarret Doege, West Virginia University, Senior, Quarterback
Sean Mahone, West Virginia University, Senior, Defensive Back
Mike Caliendo, Western Michigan University, Senior, Offensive Line
Wuerffell Trophy Recepients
Rudy Niswanger - Louisiana State University - 2005
Joel Penton - Ohio State University - 2006
Paul Smith - University of Tulsa - 2008
Tim Tebow - University of Florida - 2008
Tim Hiller - Western Michigan University - 2009
Sam Acho - University of Texas - 2010
Barrett Jones - University of Alabama - 2011
Matt Barkley - University of Southern California - 2012
Gabe Ikard - University of Oklahoma - 2013
Deterrian Shackelford - University of Mississippi - 2014
Ty Darlington - University of Oklahoma - 2015
Trevor Knight - Texas A&M University - 2016
Courtney Love - University of Kentucky
2017; Drue Tranquill - University of Notre Dame
2018; Jon Wassink - Western Michigan University - 2019
Teton Saltes - University of New Mexico - 2020.
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