By Thomas Corhern, TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – Tennessee Tech wide receiver Brad Clark has been a force for the Golden Eagles in his career. He's also been a leader and a servant in the community.
The National Football Foundation agrees, naming Clark as a semifinalist for the 2023 William V. Campbell Trophy as the organization released its annual list of prospective student-athletes.
A record number of 201 student-athletes from all levels of college football were on the semifinalist list, surpassing the previous record of 199 in the 2000 campaign. The list includes an average grade point average of 3.62 with more than half of the nominees already achieving their bachelor's degree.
Clark joins elite company including Dontez Byrd (2017), Seth Huner (2019), Tavin Kilpatrick (2021) and Seth Carlisle (2022) in recent years to be Golden Eagles named semifinalists for the award.
He earned his bachelor's degree in sociology/criminology-criminal justice from Tech in May 2022 and is currently working on his master's in business administration. The Lakeland, Fla., native has been a regular fixture on the Tech Athletic Director's and Ohio Valley Conference Commissioner's Honor Rolls.
Before the start of the 2023 campaign, Clark had 40 catches for 463 yards with four touchdowns. This season, he has 18 catches for 250 yards, averaging 62.5 yards per game. He also had a 100-yard game against North Alabama, hauling in six passes for 108 yards.
"These 201 impressive candidates truly represent the scholar-athlete ideal," said NFF Chairman Archie Manning in the organization's press release. "During the past seven decades, the NFF National Scholar-Athlete Awards have recognized 906 college football players who have excelled as the best our great sport has to offer. This year's semifinalists build on the tradition, further illustrating the power of football to develop the next generation of influential leaders."
The NFF will pare down the list to 12-14 finalists on Oct. 25 with each of them receiving an $18,000 scholarship as a member of the 2023 NFF National Scholar-Athlete Class Presented by Fidelity Investments. The finalists will travel to the ARIA Resort and Casino in Las Vegas for the 65th NFF Annual Awards Dinner on Dec. 5, where one member of the class will be declared the winner of the 34th Campbell Trophy and have their scholarship increased to $25,000.
The candidates are nominated by their schools – limited to one nominee each – and the candidates must be a senior or graduate student in their final year of playing eligibility, maintain a GPA of at least 3.2 on a 4.0 scale, and demonstrate outstanding football ability and strong leadership and citizenship.
Clark joins Eastern Illinois' Chad Strickland and Gardner-Webb's William McRainey as nominees from the Big South-Ohio Valley Conference Football Association.
Among the division ranks, 89 nominees came from the Division I Football Bowl Subdivision, 39 from the Division I Football Championship Subdivision, 15 from Division II, 48 from Division III and 10 from NAIA.
