May 4, 2011
DALLAS, Texas – John Stokes, a starting Vanderbilt linebacker in 2010 and four-year letterwinner for the squad, has been named to the 2011 National Football Foundation’s Hampshire Honor Society.
Stokes, a native of Memphis, Tenn., was one of 15 student-athletes from the Southeastern Conference to receive the NFF’s prestigious Hampshire Honor Society recognition. The honor goes to deserving players from every division of college football who maintained a grade point average (GPA) of 3.2 or higher.
Stokes was one of the SEC’s top scholar-athletes during his four-year undergraduate career. The Commodores’ third leading tackler, Stokes was also nominated for Vanderbilt as its current male nominee for the conference’s H. Boyd McWhorter Scholar-Athlete Postgraduate Scholarship Award, given annually for outstanding achievement in athletics and academics.
Stokes is a three-time District IV Academic All-American. The graduate of Memphis University School will earn his undergraduate degree in Medicine, Health and Society during commencement ceremonies next week on campus, achieving a GPA expected to top 3.8. He has been admitted to Vanderbilt Medical School and is likely to start postgraduate classes next September.
On the football field, Stokes started every game at outside linebacker in 2010, establishing new single-season career highs with 48 solo tackles, 78 total tackles, six tackles for loss and two fumble recoveries. From 2007-09, Stokes participated at linebacker while serving as one of the conference’s top snapping specialists.
Though not selected in the recent National Football League Draft, Stokes has aspirations of making a professional roster as a rookie free agent.
A perennial dean’s list and SEC Academic Honor Roll student, Stokes also distinguished himself in community service as a Vanderbilt undergrad. He guided two service trips to Belize in Central America through Manna Project Vanderbilt to build the nation’s first alcohol rehabilitation center, and traveled to South Africa in 2009 as part of the USAID service program.
In January, Stokes also was named as a finalist for the Bobby Bowden Award along with standout quarterbacks Andy Dalton of TCU and Christian Ponder of Florida State. The Bowden Award is presented annually by the Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA). As a senior, Stokes served as president of the FCA chapter on campus.
Stokes also was considered for other prestigious student-athlete awards last season. He was one of 10 finalists for the Awards and Recognition (ARA) Sportsmanship Award and was a semifinalist for the William V. Campbell Trophy.
The NFF Hampshire Honor Society capitalizes on the the organization’s current National Scholar-Athlete program, greatly expanding the number of scholar-athletes the NFF can recognize each year and further strengthening the organization’s leadership role in encouraging academic performance by the student-athletes who play football at the more than 700 college and universities with football programs nationwide. Qualifications for membership in the NFF Hampshire Honor Society include being a starter on the football field, achieving a 3.2 cumulative GPA or higher throughout college, and meeting all NCAA-mandated progress towards degree requirements and graduation.
“In just the fifth year of this initiative, it gives the NFF great pride to honor so many qualified and accomplished collegiate players as members of this year’s Hampshire Honor Society,” said NFF President & CEO Steve Hatchell. “The number of players we are able to recognize has nearly doubled since the first year of the program, showing that you can play football at the highest level and still be a standout student.”