Burlsworth Trophy

Last updated

Burlsworth Trophy
Awarded forThe most outstanding FBS college football player who began his career as a walk-on.
Location Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville, Arkansas
CountryUnited States
Presented byThe Brandon Burlsworth Foundation
History
First award2010
Most recent Drew Mestemaker, North Texas
Website http://burlsworthtrophy.com/

The Burlsworth Trophy is an award given annually to the most outstanding FBS college football player who began his career as a walk-on. [1] [2] It was first awarded for the 2010 season and is a program of the Brandon Burlsworth Foundation. Burlsworth walked on to the Arkansas Razorbacks football program in 1994 and became an All-American. He was killed in a car accident 11 days after being selected by the Indianapolis Colts in the third round of the 1999 NFL draft. [3]

Contents

On October 28, 2019, the Burlsworth Trophy became a member of the National College Football Awards Association (NCFAA). It joins the Broyles Award as the only members of the NCFAA originating in Arkansas. [4] The trophy was sculpted and produced by Raymond Gibby of Nobility Bronze in Pea Ridge, Arkansas.[ citation needed ]

Winners and finalists

YearWinnerPos.SchoolOther finalistsRef.
2010 Sean Bedford C Georgia Tech Army LB Josh McNary;
Tennessee LB Nick Reveiz;
Oklahoma State FB Bryant Ward;
Boise State DE Ryan Winterswyk 		[5]
2011 Austin Davis QB Southern Miss Houston WR Patrick Edwards;
Stanford WR Griff Whalen 		[6]
2012 Matt McGloin QB Penn State Michigan S Jordan Kovacs;
San José State OT David Quessenberry 		[7]
2013 Jared Abbrederis WR Wisconsin Missouri G Max Copeland;
Tulsa RB Trey Watts 		[8]
2014 Justin Hardy WR East Carolina Mississippi State G Ben Beckwith;
Iowa FB Mark Weisman		 [9]
2015 Baker Mayfield QB Oklahoma Washington State QB Luke Falk;
Penn State DE Carl Nassib 		[10]
2016 Baker Mayfield (2) QB Oklahoma Northwestern WR Austin Carr;
Washington State QB Luke Falk 		[11]
2017 Luke Falk QB Washington State Wisconsin TE Troy Fumagalli;
Oklahoma QB Baker Mayfield;
Memphis WR Anthony Miller 		[12]
2018 Hunter Renfrow WR Clemson California RB Patrick Laird;
Wyoming S Marcus Epps 		[13]
2019 Kenny Willekes DE Michigan State Georgia K Rodrigo Blankenship;
California S/RS Ashtyn Davis 		[14]
2020 Jimmy Morrissey C Pittsburgh BYU WR Dax Milne;
Arkansas LB Grant Morgan 		[15]
2021 Grant Morgan LB Arkansas Georgia QB Stetson Bennett;
Troy LB Carlton Martial 		[16]
2022 Stetson Bennett QB Georgia Purdue QB Aidan O'Connell;
Troy LB Carlton Martial 		[17]
2023 Cody Schrader RB Missouri James Madison DT James Carpenter;
Oklahoma WR Drake Stoops 		[18]
2024 Bryce Boettcher LB Oregon Buffalo LB Shaun Dolac;
Indiana DT James Carpenter 		[19]
2025 Drew Mestemaker QB North Texas Oklahoma OL Febechi Nwaiwu
Texas DB Michael Taaffe 		[20]

References

  1. ↑ "Burlsworth Trophy".
  2. ↑ "1st Burlsworth trophy goes to Ga. Tech walk-on", Associated Press in The Seattle Times , March 15, 2011.
  3. ↑ "Arkansas to honor Brandon Burlsworth", Associated Press at ESPN.com, August 19, 2010.
  4. ↑ "The Burlsworth Trophy Becomes Member of NCFAA". Hogville.net. Archived from the original on October 30, 2019. Retrieved October 30, 2019.
  5. ↑ "2010 Trophy Winner – Burlsworth Trophy".
  6. ↑ "Southern Miss QB wins Burlsworth Award", Associated Press in Knoxville News Sentinel , December 9. 2011.
  7. ↑ "Penn State QB McGloin wins Burlsworth Award" [ permanent dead link ], Associated Press at Yahoo! Sports, December 3, 2012.
  8. ↑ "Wisconsin WR Abbrederis win Burlsworth Award" (Press release). Wisconsin Badgers. December 9, 2013. Archived from the original on December 10, 2013. Retrieved December 8, 2013.
  9. ↑ "Justin Hardy Named 2014 Burlsworth Trophy Winner" (Press release). ECU Athletics. December 8, 2014. Archived from the original on December 9, 2014. Retrieved December 8, 2014.
  10. ↑ "Oklahoma Quarterback Baker Mayfield Named 2015 Burlsworth Trophy Winner" (Press release). Burlsworth Trophy. December 7, 2015. Archived from the original on December 18, 2015. Retrieved December 19, 2015.
  11. ↑ "Baker Mayfield Named 2016 Burlsworth Trophy Winner" (Press release). Burlsworth Trophy. December 5, 2016. Archived from the original on December 20, 2016. Retrieved December 5, 2016.
  12. ↑ "Washington State's Luke Falk Named 2017 Burlsworth Trophy Winner" (Press release). Burlsworth Trophy. December 4, 2017. Archived from the original on December 5, 2017. Retrieved December 4, 2017.
  13. ↑ Clemson receiver wins Burlsworth Trophy, NWA Online, December 3, 2018
  14. ↑ Solari, Chris (December 9, 2019). "Michigan State football DE Kenny Willekes wins Burlsworth Trophy as best former walk-on". Detroit Free Press . Retrieved December 9, 2019.
  15. ↑ McGonigal, John (January 4, 2021). "Pitt's Jimmy Morrissey wins Burlsworth Trophy as college football's top former walk-on". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette . Retrieved January 5, 2020.
  16. ↑ "Grant Morgan Named 2021 Burlsworth Trophy Winner". burlsworthtrophy.com. December 6, 2021. Retrieved September 24, 2025.
  17. ↑ "Stetson Bennett Named 2022 Burlsworth Trophy Winner". burlsworthtrophy.com. December 5, 2022. Retrieved September 24, 2025.
  18. ↑ "Cody Schrader Named 2023 Burlsworth Trophy Winner". burlsworthtrophy.com. December 4, 2023. Retrieved September 24, 2025.
  19. ↑ Oregonian/OregonLive, James Crepea | The (December 10, 2024). "Oregon linebacker Bryce Boettcher wins Burlsworth Trophy". oregonlive. Retrieved December 10, 2024.
  20. ↑ "Mestemaker Named 2025 Burlsworth Trophy Winner" (Press release). Brandon Burlsworth Foundation. December 8, 2025. Retrieved December 9, 2025.
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