5/12: College Football Is Headed To Puerto Rico

May 12, 2026

What do we have included in this week’s National Football Foundation Footballetter?

🏈 Charles Davis tells his ‘I Played’ story
🏈 Hear from an orthopedic surgeon on what’s good in the game
🏈 College football is headed to Puerto Rico
🏈 And much more!

College football players are members of the greatest fraternity in the world. Check out the National Football Foundation’s ‘I Played’ roster and submit your story to join today!

Members who recently submitted their ‘I Played’ story: 

  • Todd Baldwin, VMI — President and Founder, Red Leg Brewing Company

  • Robert Hampton, Boston University — Retired Teacher, Jersey City Board of Education

  • Tom Welter, Nebraska — COO, Empower Brands

Name: Charles Davis
College: Tennessee
Now: Lead College Football Analyst at CBS Sports

There are good things happening all over the game of football. The National Football Foundation has asked individuals to share an example of something they see happening within our sport that is good for the game. Here are their answers!

. . .

“I had coaches growing up that saw things in me that I didn’t see in myself. They stuck with me when I started to go astray. They put the guardrails up.”

— Gregg Carr, 2025 NFF College Football Hall of Fame inductee

Deep in the Heart of Texas

The NFF Greater Austin Chapter honored 34 senior football players during the outpost’s annual banquet May 3 at the University of Texas. VIPs in attendance included NFF College Football Hall of Fame inductees Doug English, Michael Huff and coach Mack Brown, along with longtime UT broadcaster Craig Way.

Southern Indiana Chapter
Honors Scholar-Athletes

The Southern Indiana Chapter hosted its scholar-athlete banquet May 3, honoring 15 high school players for their excellence on and off the field.

Kansas Sunflower Chapter
Honors Scholar-Athletes

The NFF Coach Bill Snyder Family/Sunflower Chapter honored 18 scholar-athletes on May 6 during its annual awards event at the David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium Conference Center in Lawrence. The chapter also recognized nine individuals with legacy, coaching and officiating awards for their contributions to the game.

Congratulations to 2002 NFF Campbell Trophy finalist Jon Stinchcomb on being named to the Georgia Bulldog Radio Network broadcast team for the 2026 season!

In the most recent episode of the NFF Podcast, host LaVar Arrington sits down with Robert Gallery. From Masonville farm kid to Outland Trophy winner, No. 2 overall pick, and College Football Hall of Famer, Gallery’s football résumé is the stuff of legend. But as he tells Arrington, the real story didn’t begin until the helmet came off. In this powerful conversation, Gallery opens up about the depression, anxiety, brain fog, and darkness that followed his NFL career — the part players are never supposed to admit out loud.

Puerto Rico Is Getting Its First-Ever College Football Bowl Game, With Help From ESPN
Caribbean Journal

Warner Defeats Keiser To Claim First NAIA Flag Football Title
Collegiate Flag Football

Inside the Rose Bowl’s $30 Million Makeover
LA Times

Craig Morton, a 1992 NFF College Football Hall of Fame inductee and a star quarterback at California from 1962-64, passed away May 9. He was 83.

Morton played on three losing teams at Cal, but in 1964, when the team had only a 3-7 record, he was named All-America by the Football Coaches Association, Football Writers Association, Sporting News, and Time Magazine.

Click here to read more about the life and legacy of Craig Morton.

  • Warren Belin, who played collegiately at Wake Forest and spent more than 30 years in the coaching ranks, has passed away. He was 58.

  • Timothy Carmichael, who played collegiately at Iowa State, has passed away. He was 94.

  • Charles Church, who played collegiately at Ohio State, has passed away. He was 88.

  • Jim Colbert, who played collegiately at Kansas State and won 28 times combined on the PGA Tour and Champions Tour, has passed away. He was 85.

  • Robert Cole, who played collegiately at Ole Miss and was the first Black baseball player at the school, has passed away. He was 60.

  • Jimmie Dale, who played collegiately at Tulsa and North Texas, has passed away. He was 80.

  • Kenneth Hill, who played collegiately at Utah State, has passed away. He was 74.

  • William Hill, who played collegiately at Delaware, has passed away. He was 73.

  • Keith Jellum, who played collegiately at Washington, has passed away. He was 87.

  • Robert Matheson, who played collegiately at Iowa State, has passed away. He was 94.

  • Gary Pence, who played collegiately at Washington State, has passed away. He was 83.

  • Dr. Wayne Sebastianelli, who served as Director of Athletic Medicine at Penn State for 32 years, has passed away. He was 68.

  • Joe Senser, who played collegiately at West Chester before playing and broadcasting with the Minnesota Vikings, has passed away. He was 69.

  • Rodney Walker, a legendary high school football coach in the state of Georgia, has passed away. He was 79.

  • Morris Watts, a longtime coach at Michigan State, has passed away. He was 88.

June 1 — Release of the 2027 NFF College Football Hall of Fame Ballot

June 16 — Announcement of the 2026 NFF High School Team of Distinction

July 23-25 — NFF Campbell Trophy® Summit at Stanford University

September 23 — Announcement of the 2026 NFF Campbell Trophy® Semifinalists

October 21 — Announcement of the 2026 NFF Campbell Trophy® Finalists

December 8 — 68th NFF Annual Awards Dinner Presented by Las Vegas at Bellagio Resort & Casino

December 8 — Announcement of the winner of the 37th NFF William V. Campbell Trophy®

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