Nov. 11, 2014
Fort Walton Beach, Fla. – Vanderbilt’s Andrew East, who combines excellence on the football field with a passion for community service, has been named as one of 12 finalists for the 2014 Wuerffel Trophy.
East, a fifth-year senior from Indianapolis, Ind., is one of four student-athletes from the Southeastern Conference named as a finalist for the Wuerffel Trophy, which is awarded nationally to the college football player who best exhibits exemplary community service.
Inclusion as a Wuerffel Trophy finalist is the second community service-related honor bestowed on East, who is currently working toward a M.B.A. at Vanderbilt’s Owens School of Management. In September, he was named among 11 NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision athletes to the Allstate-American Football Coaches Association Good Works squad.
This also marks the second straight year that a Vanderbilt student-athlete has been included among the Wuerffel Award finalists. Last year, Commodore All-SEC placekicker Carey Spear was voted as a finalist by the Wuerffel committee.
The 2014 Wuerffel Trophy winner will be announced on Dec. 9. The trophy and will will be presented to the winner at the All Sports Association’s 46th Annual Awards Banquet on February 13, 2015, in Fort Walton Beach.
“This year we had a record number of universities nominating their athletes,” said Tom Brassell, executive director of the Wuerffel Trophy. “It just continues to amaze us to see what good things so many of these young men are doing in serving others in their communities and around the world.”
East has handed all snap responsibilities during his varsity career, a span of 49 games, helping the Commodores to consecutive 9-win seasons for the first time since the early 1900s.
Off the field, East has been active in an array of community service efforts, both in the Nashville area as a Vanderbilt student and in his hometown.
An Eagle scout, East has assisted several efforts aiding the homeless, including the Wheeler Mission in Indianapolis, Seven Bridges Ministry in Atlanta, and Room in the Inn in Nashville. He has actively mentored recovering addicts at the Hebron Center, spoken to several elementary school classes near Vanderbilt, and spent a summer working with disadvantaged youth with the Harvest Hands organization in south Nashville.
A two-year Fellowship of Christian Athletes president, East has served as a mission leader helping to improve housing and orphanages in impoverished areas of Peru, Haiti and Mexico.
Closer to campus, East has been a leader with the Student Athlete Advisory Committee, and frequently visits with ailing youngsters getting treatment at the Vanderbilt Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital.
This is the 10th anniversary of the Wuerffel Trophy, an award named after former Heisman Trophy winner Danny Wuerffel, who led the Florida Gators to the 1996 national championship, played six years in the National Football League and has received national recognition for his humanitarian and community service efforts with Desire Street Ministries, in New Orleans and around the country.
“Each year I’m amazed by the quality of student athletes who are nominated by their schools, and this year is no different,” said Wuerffel. “Not only is it very difficult to pick a winner, it’s even a struggle to select the finalists. In a time when so much negative attention gets directed to a few players and their poor choices, it’s refreshing to see the positive impact these young men are having in their communities.”
In addition to East, other Wuerffel Trophy finalists are quarterback Taylor Kelly of Arizona State, long snapper Bryce Haynes of Ohio State, long snapper Sam Rodgers of Syracuse, wide receiver Chris Conley of Georgia, defensive end Brennen Beyer of Michigan, linebacker Deterrian Shackelford of Mississippi, running back Ameer Abduullah of Nebraska, quarterback Trevor Knight of Oklahoma, quarterback Dylan Thompson of South Carolina, placekicker Corey Acosta of Southern Mississippi, and center Greg Mancz of Toledo.
