Good in the Game 10/29

Iconic broadcaster Charles Davis stopped by the Good in the Game podcast this week!

Good morning, football fans! And congratulations to North Pole High School for winning Alaska’s first-ever flag football state championship! Hear all about the Patriots’ run to the title by clicking here.

The National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame has announced the finalists for the 2024 William V. Campbell Trophy, college football’s premier scholar-athlete award!

The 16 finalists, chosen from a record 204 semifinalists, will each receive an $18,000 postgraduate scholarship as a member of the 2024 NFF National Scholar-Athlete Class Presented by Fidelity Investments. Here are the finalists!

  • Tahj Brooks (RB — Texas Tech, 3.5 GPA) is on pace to become Texas Tech’s all-time leading rusher, needing less than 250 yards to pass Byron Hanspard, and has entered the top-10 in Big 12 history in rushing yards (3,977).

  • Robert Coury (LB — Carnegie Mellon (Pa.), 3.97 GPA) has earned six All-America honors over the past two years, and owns the school record for tackles-for-loss (58) and is fourth in sacks (20).

  • Jaxson Dart (QB — Ole Miss, 3.71 GPA) has passed for over 10,000 yards and 66 touchdowns in his Ole Miss career, and is tied for the most wins in program history with Eli Manning and Bo Wallace.

  • Beau Freyler (DB — Iowa State, 3.91 GPA) has twice been selected an All-Big 12 player for the Cyclones, and has compiled 263 tackles and seven interceptions in his career.

  • Dillon Gabriel (QB — Oregon, 3.43 GPA) is second all-time in NCAA history in passing yards (17,236), total yards (18,426) and total touchdowns (175), and is also top-10 all-time in completions (1,242).

  • Ashton Gillotte (DL — Louisville, 3.69 GPA) has totaled 114 tackles in his career and 23 sacks, which is ninth in program history. His 11 sacks in 2023 led the ACC and placed him eighth nationally.

  • Brody Grebe (DE — Montana State, 3.93 GPA) has 16 tackles for loss in his career, including 11.5 sacks, and is a two-time All-American selection.

  • Mark Gronowski (QB — South Dakota State, 3.76 GPA), a four-year starter and three-year captain for the Jackrabbits, has won 43 games, including the past two FCS national championships.

  • Terrance Hollon (LB — Howard, 3.90 GPA), a First Team All-MEAC player last season, has 202 tackles in his career while guiding the Bison to back-to-back conference titles.

  • Jack Kiser (LB — Notre Dame, 3.97 GPA), in his sixth season in South Bend, has accumulated 228 career tackles, four sacks and four interceptions, two of which he took back for touchdowns.

  • Luke Lehnen (QB — North Central (Ill.), 3.76 GPA) has led the Cardinals to a 49-2 record in four years as the starting quarterback, including three trips to the NCAA Division III national championship game. He is the only player in college football history to throw a touchdown pass in 50 consecutive games.

  • Brayden Long (QB — Slippery Rock (Pa.), 4.0 GPA) earned PSAC West and Super Region One Offensive Athlete of the Year honors last season, throwing for 3,808 yards and 35 touchdowns for a 12-win Slippery Rock team.

  • Jake Majors (C — Texas, 3.65 GPA) has made 49 career starts for the Longhorns, leading one of the most explosive offenses in the country. The Longhorns are averaging 158.4 rushing yards per game this season.

  • Seth McLaughlin (C — Ohio State, 4.0 GPA) has anchored an Ohio State offensive line that has allowed just seven sacks and 23 tackles for loss. The Buckeyes have ran for 185.5 yards per game this season.

  • Jalen Milroe (QB — Alabama, 3.52 GPA) has led the Tide to two CFP appearances and a pair of SEC championships, totaling 67 touchdowns and more than 5,000 yards through the air.

  • Jackson Woodard (LB — UNLV, 3.77 GPA), the Mountain West Preseason Defensive Player of the Year, has 75 tackles this season and four interceptions, tied for the fifth-most in FBS.

Click here to learn more about the 2024 William V. Campbell Trophy finalists.

Deon Figures held up his end of the deal

Deon Figures knew he would be tested in Colorado’s 1990 matchup with Washington. He also knew the game was do-or-die for the Buff’s national championship hopes. Figures picked off two Mark Brunell passes that day, including a fourth-down interception that sealed the win.

Of course, Colorado did go on to win the national championship that season, and it set the foundation for Figures to become one of the more decorated defensive backs in college football history. This year, he adds one more honor.

Click here to read more about Figure’s legacy in his 2024 College Football Hall of Fame Spotlight!

Kevin Smith learned about teamwork at a young age

Kevin Smith got pulled from a Little League game when he was a kid because of a rule stating that everyone must play. He was not happy about it at the time. After an earful from his mother, he began to understand the importance of a complete team. That message his always stuck with him.

Smith would turn from that little kid into a dominant cornerback at Texas A&M, where he is the program’s all-time leader in interceptions, interception return yards and interceptions returned for touchdowns. Now, he’s the latest Aggie to be inducted into the NFF College Hall of Fame.

Click here to read more about Smith’s legacy in his 2024 College Football Hall of Fame Spotlight!

Good in the Game host LaVar Arrington is joined by iconic broadcaster Charles Davis on the podcast this week!

Davis discusses his career, his influences and what the game of football has meant to him on and off the field. Davis also hits on his time at the University of Tennessee, transitioning to the broadcast booth and how through hard work and determination, Davis has earned his title as one of the best in the business.

Top teams hold steady in this week’s FWAA-NFF Super 16 Poll!

The top eight spots in this week’s FWAA-NFF Super 16 poll stayed the same, but there was plenty of shake-up after that.

COME JOIN US IN LAS VEGAS!

The 66th National Football Foundation Annual Awards Dinner presented by Las Vegas will be here before we know it, and tickets are going fast — buy yours now to ensure you get the NFF discounted rate!

Learn more about the game with CFO’s Steve Shaw

The NFF works with College Football Officiating (CFO) throughout the year to make the game better and safer. As part of the relationship, the NFF is pleased to share with our readers the most recent CFO-NCAA Media Video, explaining some of the recent play calls in college football.

Larry Fitzgerald — wide receiver, Pitt

Photo: Pitt Athletics

Frank Solich — head coach, Nebraska & Ohio

Photo: Ohio Athletics

The Southeastern Conference has announced its 2024 Football Legends Class, and it has an NFF flavor to it!

Three members of the NFF College Football Hall of Fame are set to be inducted — Barry Switzer (head coach, Oklahoma), Eric Berry (defensive back, Tennessee) and Vince Young (quarterback, Texas). Barrett Jones (offensive line, Alabama), the 2021 Campbell Trophy winner, and Chase Daniel (quarterback, Missouri), an NFF Scholar-Athlete and Campbell Trophy finalist, will also be inducted.

Whittier College (Calif.) has announced the return of the school’s football program for the 2026-27 season!

You may recognize the Whittier football alum wearing No. 23 in the photo above — that is former President Richard Nixon, who played tackle and end for Whittier in the 1930s. Nixon was the NFF Gold Medal Award winner in 1969.

Click here to read the NFF’s Footballetter from the fall of 1969, announcing Nixon as the winner of the Gold Medal.

Alan Miller, an all-conference fullback for Boston College and member of the Eagles’ Athletics Hall of Fame, has passed away. He was 87.

Tim Clifford, who quarterbacked Indiana to its first bowl win in school history in the 1979 Holiday Bowl, has passed away. He was 65.

John Campbell, who played linebacker for the Minnesota Golden Gophers and in the NFL for the Minnesota Vikings, has passed away. He was 86.

AFCA Executive Director Craig Bohl made a special presentation to former Duke head coach Fred Goldsmith this weekend at Wallace Wade Stadium, commemorating the 30th anniversary of his winning the Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Award.

Goldsmith claimed the award in 1994 during his first season at Duke after leading the Blue Devils to an 8-4 season that was capped off with the program's second bowl bid since 1961. During that season, Goldsmith's Blue Devils strung together seven straight wins and spent six consecutive weeks in the AP Top 25 poll. Goldsmith also was the head coach at Slippery Rock (PA), Rice and Lenoir-Rhyne (NC).

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