NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Vanderbilt senior linebacker Ethan Barr has been named a semifinalist for the William V. Campbell Trophy, given annually to the nation’s top scholar-athlete. The National Football Foundation announced the list of semifinalists Wednesday.
Barr is a two-time captain for the Commodores who is set to graduate in December with a major in human and organizational development from Vanderbilt’s Peabody College. He entered the fall semester with a 3.60 grade-point average and is a two-time SEC Fall Academic Honor Roll selection, in addition to making the league’s First Year Academic Honor Roll as a freshman.
On the field, the Flower Mound, Texas, native has played in 38 career games and made 32 starts, including the last 31 consecutive games. Over that time, he has made 188 total tackles, 4.5 for loss, forced a fumble, defended seven passes and made three interceptions.
The National Football Foundation will announce 12-14 finalists on Oct. 25, with each finalist receiving an $18,000 postgraduate scholarship. The finalists will attend the 65th annual NFF Awards Dinner in Las Vegas on Dec. 5. The winner will be announced at the dinner and receive an additional $7,000 towards their postgraduate scholarship, bringing the total to $25,000.
Nominated by their schools, which are limited to one nominee each, candidates for the awards must be a senior or graduate student in their final year of playing eligibility, have a GPA of at least 3.2 on a 4.0 scale, have outstanding football ability as a first-team player or significant contributor and have demonstrated strong leadership and citizenship. The class is selected each year by the NFF Awards Committee, which is comprised of a nationally recognized group of media, College Football Hall of Famers and athletics administrators.
Barr and the Commodores return to the field Saturday when Missouri visits FirstBank Stadium for a 3 p.m. contest. The game can be seen on SEC Network and heard on 94.9 The Game and the Vanderbilt Athletics app.
