By Thomas Corhern, TTU Sports Information
IRVING, Texas – As the National Football Foundation announced its annual Hampshire Honor Society, the roster included a record 1,989 student-athletes from all levels of college football – NCAA, NAIA and sprint football.
Among those honorees, four Tennessee Tech football players – Brad Clark, Kail Dava, Cole Putnam and Trevor Stephens – were inducted as members of the exclusive group.
Nominated by their respective institutions, all inductees had to be a senior or graduate player, had to maintain a minimum 3.2 grade point average and be key contributors during the 2023 season.
Clark finished up his final season with the Golden Eagles, leading the team in receiving with 42 catches for 491 yards and one touchdown, ranking third in all-purpose yardage behind running backs Justin Pegues and Marcus Knight. Clark was a semifinalist for the NFF's William V. Campbell Trophy.
Dava saw action in nine games as part of the defensive line before an injury ended his season. He finished with 15 tackles with 5.5 for-loss for 12 yards and half-a-sack for three yards. Dava also had two quarterback hurries. He was named as a top prospect for the Canadian Football League Draft before the start of the 2023 campaign and is expected to have his name called during the league's draft at the end of the month.
Putnam saw action in eight games this season on defense, forcing a fumble in the season opener at Furman and collecting two tackles as a defensive back.
Stephens, recognized last month as a C.R. Bickerstaff/Bill Pace College Scholar by the NFF's Middle Tennessee chapter, was a big piece of the offensive line as he played in 10 of the 11 games this season. Under his protection, the Golden Eagles were able to run for 1,384 yards and 10 touchdowns and pass for 1,936 yards and 10 more scores.
Tech, Eastern Illinois and Gardner-Webb were the only Big South-Ohio Valley Conference Football Association members to have inductees. Stone Galloway, Anthony Imperio, Daniel Luoma, Chad Strickland, Justin Thomas, Braylon Willis represented the Panthers, while William McRainey was the Runnin' Bulldogs' selection.
In all, 1,989 players from 339 institutions qualified for the Hampshire Honor Society this season. Nebraska led all programs with 21 honorees, while North Dakota led the FCS with 20.
