Good in the Game 7/29

Warde Manuel is set to be honored for a job well done.

July 29, 2024

Good morning, football fans! You have found the newest edition of the weekly Good in the Game newsletter — we’ll be here each Monday morning keeping you up to date on everything happening at the National Football Foundation, as well as pointing out all the good that is happening in the game we love.

University of Michigan Director of Athletics Warde Manuel’s list of accomplishments is long. He played football for the Wolverines under Hall of Fame coach Bo Schembechler, he became just the 12th athletics director in the university’s 140-year history in 2016, he oversees a Wolverine football program that won the CFP national championship last season, and he has been named the CFP Selection Committee chair for the 2024 season.

And now that list of accomplishments is set to get a little longer — the National Football Foundation announced last week that Manuel will be the recipient of the 2024 NFF John L. Toner Award!

What is the John L. Toner Award, you ask? First presented in 1997, the award recognizes athletics directors who have demonstrated superior administrative abilities and shown outstanding dedication to college athletics, particularly college football.

The National Football Foundation stopped by the Texas High School Coaches Association convention in San Antonio last week to recognize Klein Cain High School as the top high school football program in the state for its achievements in the classroom, on the field, and in the community.

The Hurricanes, led by head coach James Clancy and athletics director Darby Young, boasted a 3.874 team GPA last season, with 47 of its 65 student-athletes earning Academic All-District honors. On the field, Klein Cain won eight games and claimed its fourth consecutive bi-district championship, with the senior class leaving as the winningest class in school history.

And when the Hurricanes weren’t in the classroom or on the field, they were in the community, taking part in Gridiron Heroes Pledge Drive, the Salute to Service Dedication for First Responders, Our Day to Shine (THSCA Coaches Benevolence Fund), and the Future Hurricane Youth Football Night Service Program.

Damon Allred/Arizona Sports

The leadership council of the Arizona State football team is getting a rebrand, in memory of one of the best leaders football has ever seen — Pat Tillman.

The Tillman Leadership Council will feature 12 student-athletes whose job is to educate the team on Tillman’s legacy while also setting a standard at practice and relaying messages from the coaching staff.

AP Photo/John Raoux

Freshman Florida quarterback DJ Lagway is In The Game™️.

After a recent Gator football practice, Lagway and some teammates sat down to play the new EA Sports College Football 25, a surreal experience for those with video game versions of themselves on the screen.

Jim Agnew/freelance

The schedule was just like any other for the William & Mary football staff on July 21 — training the players, speeches to inspire and some community-building among the group.

The players, though, were not student-athletes. It was a group of women who set out to prove that they, too, can participate in all sports at all levels.

HBCU Gameday

NFL veteran Davon Morgan has been appointed the head coach at Bluefield State, a HBCU program in Bluefield, West Virginia that finished 1-9 last season.

Morgan is bringing a new vision and experiences from his time around coaches such as Frank Beamer to the position.

Believe it or not, we’ve only got 11 days until the state of Hawaii officially kicks off the high school football season on Aug. 9! Get your state’s start date on the calendar by clicking on the link below!

The National Football Foundation was in Palo Alto last week for this year’s 2024 Campbell Trophy Summit. For now you can go catch the highlights on the NFF’s social channels, and come back here next week for the full recap!