Hoosier Running Back Ricky Brookins Selected Wuerffel Trophy Watch List

Ricky Brookins's impact off the field has gotten national recognition. Image: Sammy Jacobs Hoosier Huddle

IU Athletics Release

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Indiana fifth-year senior running back Ricky Brookins was selected to the Wuerffel Trophy Watch List, it was announced today. The list consists of 106 players from college football's Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS).
 
The Wuerffel Trophy, known as "College Football's Premier Award for Community Service," is presented annually at the All Sports Association's Awards Banquet in Fort Walton Beach.  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.
 
Brookins, also a candidate for the Allstate AFCA Good Works Team®, spearhead a GoFundMe page for football manager Matt Stauder that has raised over $23,000. Matt is entering his senior year at IU majoring in sports management and marketing. Last season, Matt unexpectedly lost his father to a heart attack. Shortly after, Matt was diagnosed with Hodgkins Lymphoma cancer. He started treatments in early May.
 
Additionally, Brookins has been a volunteer at Camp Riley, a camp that empowers children with physical disabilities by providing life-changing experiences in a camp environment tailored to their individual needs. He has also participated in the 2nd & 7 Foundation, which promotes reading by providing free books and positive role models to kids in need while encouraging young athletes of the community to pay it forward. Brookins has participated in Hoosiers Outrun Cancer and served the homeless a Christmas Meal at St. Anthony Shelter at the 2016 Foster Farms Bowl.
 
Nominations for the Wuerffel Trophy are made by the respective universities' Sports Information Department and will close on Oct. 12.  A current list of nominees can be found at www.wuerffeltrophy.org beginning on Aug. 1.  Semifinalists for the award will be announced on Nov. 1 and finalists will be announced on Nov. 19.
 
The formal announcement of the 2018 recipient will be made at the National Football Foundation's press conference in New York City on Dec. 4. The presentation of the 2018 Wuerffel Trophy will occur at the 50th All Sports Association Awards Banquet on Feb. 15, 2019, in Fort Walton Beach. 
 
Past winners of the award are:  Rudy Niswanger - LSU - 2005; Joel Penton - Ohio State - 2006; Paul Smith - Tulsa - 2008; Tim Tebow - Florida - 2008; Tim Hiller - Western Michigan - 2009; Sam Acho - Texas - 2010; Barrett Jones - Alabama - 2011; Matt Barkley - USC - 2012; Gabe Ikard - Oklahoma - 2013; Deterrian Shackelford - Ole Miss - 2014; Ty Darlington - Oklahoma - 2015; Trevor Knight - Texas A&M - 2016; Courtney Love - Kentucky - 2017.
 
The Wuerffel Trophy is a member of the National College Football Awards Association (NCFAA) which encompasses the most prestigious awards in college football.  The 24 awards boast more than 800 years of tradition-selection excellence.  Visit www.ncfaa.org to learn more about our story.  

The Wuerffel Trophy is supported by its corporate partners, Dart Container Corporation/Solo Cup and Herff Jones. 

Tickets for the Hoosiers seven 2018 home games are available by clicking here, by phone at 1-866-IUSPORTS or in person at the Assembly Hall Ticket Office. Indiana will welcome Virginia (Sept. 8 at 7:30 p.m. ET), Ball State (Sept. 15 at noon ET), Michigan State (Sept. 22), Iowa (Oct. 13 – Homecoming at noon ET), Penn State (Oct. 20), Maryland (Nov. 10) and Purdue (Nov. 24).