7/1: The very best of high school football

Good in the Game 7/1

July 01, 2025

Good morning, football fans! And while we have you here — happy (early) Independence Day!

The National Football Foundation has announced its 2025 Team of Distinction, recognizing 82 stellar high school scholar-athletes from across the country for their combined performance on the football field, in the classroom and in the community! Part of the NFF's mission to promote the scholar-athlete ideal, the initiative honors the top high school football players from across the country for their all-around excellence—while also highlighting the vital work of the NFF Chapter Network at the grassroots level.

CLICK HERE to learn more!

Love College Football.
Now Help Shape Its History.

The 2026 College Football Hall of Fame Ballot is out — featuring 223 legends across all levels of the game. Only National Football Foundation members can vote, helping decide which icons take their place among the less than 0.02% of players and coaches ever enshrined. Join the NFF today to cast your ballot and make your voice part of the legacy. Voting ends TODAY.

In the latest episode of the Good in the Game Podcast, host LaVar Arrington sits down with the young pup, Alex Brown. The former Florida Gator chats about getting into the game, playing for the Gators and earning playing time after sitting behind Jevon Kearse, plus what he's up to now in life and what the game means to him.

Join us to celebrate college football legends such as Michel Huff (Texas), Alex Mack (Cal), Steve Slaton (West Virginia) and Ryan Yarborough (Wyoming) and many, many more at one of the sport's grandest traditions

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.

More than 1,400 high school football quarterbacks and receivers convened on the campus of Nicholls State University in Thibodaux, Louisiana, June 26-29, for the 29th edition of The Manning Passing Academy. The academy, which has attracted many of the top players in college football history during the past three decades, has one simple goal: to make the game more enjoyable for high school players.

CLICK HERE to learn more!

NFF chapters continue with a busy slate of events across the country, celebrating the best scholar-athletes from their respective regions. Collectively, the network will award more than $1 million in local scholarships this year while recognizing 3,500 high school and college student-athletes. Spanning 120 chapters in 47 states, the NFF Chapter Network serves as the heartbeat of a nationwide effort to promote amateur football and instill leadership, sportsmanship, and academic excellence among young players. The movement traces back to 1954, when the Cincinnati Club first discussed forming NFF chapters. Today, more than 12,000 passionate members continue that legacy, dedicated to Building Leaders Through Football. Together, they host more than 300 events annually, reaching 500,000 football players at 5,000 high schools.

Upper Left: The Jack Grinold/Eastern Massachusetts Chapter held its annual scholar-athlete banquet in Framingham on June 22. Ford Webb, an offensive lineman from Belmont Hill with a 3.98 GPA, was among the 18 scholar-athletes honored. He will play at Middlebury in the fall.

Upper Middle: The NFF Bill Ireland/Las Vegas Chapter, in proud partnership with the Stallworth Strong Foundation, presented a $2,500 merit-based scholarship to David Johnson of Chaparral High School during the Southern Nevada Sports Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony on June 13. Johnson, a First Team All-League DT and Defensive MVP, maintained a 3.185 GPA.

Far Right: Twin Lakes High School’s Leo Dellinger received the NFF Joe Tiller/Northwest Indiana Chapter Scholar-Athlete of the Year Award from Clayton Richard during the chapter’s event in West Lafayette, Indiana, on June 22. Dellinger was also just named a member of the NFF Team of Distinction.

Lower Middle: The NFF Tom Lombardo/St. Louis Chapter welcomed United Football League President & CEO Russ Brandon (right) and St. Louis Battlehawks player Travis Feeney (left) at their monthly luncheon June 11. Longtime St. Louis Post-Dispatch sportswriter Jim Thomas (center) moderated the discussion. Freeney played for the Washington Huskies in college.

Lower Left: The NYC Chapter, led by President Marc Hudak, revived the NYC vs. Long Island All-Star Game on June 21 after a five-year hiatus caused by COVID-19. Now the NFF All-Star Classic, the game featured college-inspired uniforms — Long Island in Ohio State’s away uniforms, NYC in Michigan’s home colors. Click here to watch a replay of the game.

🏈 The Monday Morning Quarterback Club of Birmingham, Alabama, a chapter of the National Football Foundation, will present the Nick Saban Legacy Award to coaches David Cutcliffe and the late Pat Dye on Aug. 18 during an event in Birmingham. Lauren Sisler and Rick Neuheisel will emcee, and Nick and Terry Saban will be on hand as the guests of honor. Dye headed programs at East Carolina, Wyoming, and Auburn, and he was inducted into the NFF College Football Hall of Fame in 2005. Cutcliffe led programs at Ole Miss and Duke. Saban is a member of the 2025 NFF College Football Hall of Fame Class.

CLICK HERE for more information and tickets!

Greg Gatlin, Houston competitor on season six of Food Network's BBQ BRawl (© 2025 Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. or its subsidiaries and affiliates. All rights reserved.)

Greg Gatlin, a defensive back at Rice in the early 2000s who subsequently opened Gatlin’s BBQ in Houston, is competing on the Food Network’s “BBQ Brawl.”

Chandler Jones, a former wide receiver at San Jose State from 2010-13, has passed away. He was 33.

Oliver Gibson, who played collegiately at Notre Dame and spent time in the NFL with both the Pittsburgh Steelers and Cincinnati Bengals, has passed away. He was 53.

Gerry Philbin, an All-American playing defensive end for Buffalo in the 1960s and a perennial All-AFL selection with the New York Jets, has passed away. He was 83.

Bill Tate, a fullback at Illinois from 1950-52 who was the MVP of the 1952 Rose Bowl and later became the head coach at Wake Forest from 1964-68, has passed away. He was 93.

Ted Smith, a Consensus All-American at guard for Ohio State in 1975, has passed away. He was 71.

Bill Riddle III, a past president of the NFF Valley of the Sun Chapter and who was honored in 2000 along with his wife as co-recipients of an NFF Chapter Leadership Award, passed away this month.

Dave Parker, who played football at Courter Tech High School in Cincinnati, citing the sport as his favorite before his Pro Baseball Hall of Fame career, passed away June 28. He was 74.

Elijah Berman, who had committed to play football at Eastern Michigan in June, has passed away. He was 17.

Nate White, a running back at South Dakota State who transferred to the program from Wisconsin, has passed away. He was 20.

Name: Archie Griffin
High School: Eastmoor (Columbus, Ohio)
College: Ohio State
Accomplishments: Two-time Heisman Trophy winner (1974, 1975), NFF College Football Hall of Fame (1986)

Share your football story with us! We want to know what football means to you, the lessons you learned, and the opportunities it provided.

July 24-26 — Campbell Trophy Summit at Stanford University

August 11 – FWAA-NFF Super 16 Preseason Poll

August 23 – Week Zero Games

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