2/4: Excellence On And Off The Field

Good in the Game 2/4

February 04, 2025

Good morning, football fans! Alabama QB and 2024 Campbell Trophy winner Jalen Milroe continues to be an amazing ambassador for the game of football — check out his interview from last week’s Senior Bowl!

Ole Miss QB and Campbell Trophy finalist Jaxson Dart was also in Mobile for the Senior Bowl, and impressed those in attendance — read about Dart’s Senior Bowl here!

Excellence on and off the field

Sixty-five high school football teams from across the country have been announced as state winners of the 2024-25 NFF National High School Academic Excellence Awards, presented by the Rose Bowl Legacy Foundation!

The initiative honors the top academic football teams from each level of play within each state and is designed to inspire and foster a culture of academic excellence in high school football teams throughout the nation. The 65 honored teams are now in the running for the NFF Hatchell Cup, presented by Bob’s Steak & Chop House.

CLICK HERE to see which schools made the list and learn more about the NFF National High School Academic Excellence Awards!

Join us to celebrate all that is good in college football at one of the sport's grandest traditions — the 67th NFF Annual Awards Dinner Presented by Las Vegas — Tuesday, Dec. 9, 2025, at the iconic Bellagio Hotel & Casino.

The highlight of the Awards Dinner will be the induction of the 2025 College Football Hall of Fame Class, where 18 legendary players and four acclaimed coaches take their place amongst the greatest of all time. The inductees proudly represent every region of the country, 28 collegiate institutions, 11 conferences, and seven decades.

In the latest episode of the Good in the Game Podcast, LaVar Arrington chats with the newest member of the College Football Hall of Fame, coach Urban Meyer. Coach and LaVar discuss Meyer's coaching legacy, Ohio State playing in the national title game, how his coaching style helped shape young men and if he thinks Deion Sanders would be a good coach in the NFL.

2025 NFF High School Showcases

The NFF High School Showcases provide thousands of eligible high school football players an opportunity for academic and participation scholarships to play at the next level.

Launched by a group of Houston high school coaches in 2009, the concept expanded to Southern California in 2013. Florida joined in 2017 and Arizona in 2023. Other sites in the past have included Atlanta, Charlotte (NC) and Detroit. Collectively, the organizers anticipate the four events in 2024 will reach more than 1,200 seniors with an estimated one-in-four receiving some kind of financial aid to go to college.

Feb. 14-15, 2025
The 9th Annual Orange Bowl Florida High School Football Showcase, Presented by Baptist Health, will take place at St. Thomas University in Miami Gardens, Florida.

Feb. 15, 2025
The Third Annual Arizona Senior Showcase will be held 15 at Ottawa University in Surprise, Arizona.

Feb. 22, 2025
The 12th Annual Terry Donahue Memorial California Showcase will take place at the Orange County Great Park in Irvine, California.

CLICK HERE to read more about the impact of the NFF High School Showcases!

Photo: Ron Medvescek, Arizona Daily Star 1983

Congratulations to 1997 NFF Hall of Fame inductee Ricky Hunley, who is set to be inducted into the Arizona Sports Hall of Fame this year!

John Huard, a two-time first team All-American linebacker in 1965 and 1966 at Maine and a 2014 inductee into the NFF Hall of Fame, has passed away. He was 80. Click here to view Huard’s NFF Hall of Fame page. Click below to watch Huard’s induction into the NFF Hall of Fame in 2014.

Herschel Turner, an All-America and All-SEC lineman for Kentucky from 1961-63, has passed away. He was 82.

Tom Jackson, who won 62 games as the head coach at Connecticut from 1983-93 and won three Yankee Conference championships with the Huskies, has passed away. He was 76.

Gene Schroeder, a star wide receiver at Virginia before being selected by the Chicago Bears in the first round of the 1951 NFL Draft, has passed away. He was 95.

Florida State running back Keith Ross, who played for the Seminoles from 1985-88,  passed away Jan. 9 after battling cancer. He was 61.

Florida State return specialist Billy Allen, who played for the Seminoles from 1981-84, recently passed away. He was in his late 60s.

Florida State linebacker Shelton Thompson, who played for the Seminoles from 1985-89, passed away Jan. 31. He was 58.

Tim Campbell, a star pass-rusher for Texas in the 1970s and younger brother of legendary RB Earl Campbell, has passed away at the age of 68.

Pam Goldsmith, wife of former Slippery Rock (PA), Rice, Duke, and Lenoir-Rhyne (NC) Head Football Coach Fred Goldsmith, passed away on December 29 at age 77.

“Flag football has definitely brought a whole new light. I feel like a lot of girls didn’t really look at football as a sport they could ever be a part of.” — Tanya Wiseman, Head Coach for Flag West

The NFF Coastal Valley Chapter and its president Jim Benkert partnered with the LA Rams and Groundbreaker to stage the LA Rams Girls Flag All Star Game in December — check out highlights from the game above!

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