Football’s Dehaze Selected as Semifinalist for Draddy Award

DALLAS - Selected as the best of the brightest from the college gridiron, The National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame (NFF) announced Northern Arizona kicker Robbie Dehaze as one of 164 semifinalists for the 2008 Draddy Trophy, presented by HealthSouth, and the candidates for the NFF 2008 National Scholar-Athlete Awards.

"The Draddy Trophy semifinalists each epitomize true excellence in all aspects of their lives," said NFF President & CEO Steven J. Hatchell. "Regardless if they win, each nominee deserves a huge bright spotlight focused on their accomplishments, and the NFF takes great pride in our role of holding them out as examples for future generations of scholar-athletes to emulate."

One of college football's most sought after and competitive awards, the Draddy Trophy recognizes an individual as the absolute best in the country for his combined academic success, football performance and exemplary community leadership. With more than 160 candidates from all divisions of play creating the pool of semifinalists for 2008 Draddy Trophy, the NFF Awards Committee will select the 15 finalists for the award, which will be announced on Oct. 23. Each of the 15 Draddy Trophy finalists will win a coveted $18,000 NFF National Scholar-Athlete Award for their post-graduate education.

Notable NFF National Scholar-Athlete alumni include NFL standout Derrick Brooks (Florida State); actor Mark Harmon (UCLA); NASA astronaut Leland Melvin (Richmond); former Dateline NBC anchor Stone Phillips (Yale); chairman of Augusta National Golf Club, home of the Masters Tournament, Billy Payne (Georgia); famed NFL quarterback Steve Young (BYU); and Heisman Trophy winners Terry Baker (Oregon State), Gary Beban (UCLA); Doug Flutie (Boston College) and Danny Wuerffel (Florida).

HealthSouth is one of the nation's largest providers of outpatient surgery, diagnostic imaging and rehabilitative healthcare services, operating facilities nationwide. HealthSouth can be found on the Web at www.healthsouth.com.

Founded in 1947 with leadership from General Douglas MacArthur, legendary Army coach Earl "Red" Blaik and immortal journalist Grantland Rice, The National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame, a non-profit educational organization, runs programs designed to use the power of amateur football in developing scholarship, citizenship and athletic achievement in young people. With 121 chapters and 12,000 members nationwide, NFF programs include the College Football Hall of Fame in South Bend, Ind., the NFF Hampshire Honor Society, Play It Smart, the NFF-FWAA Football Forum, the NFF Gridiron Clubs of New York City, Dallas and Los Angeles, and scholarships of over $1 million for college and high school scholar-athletes. The NFF awards the MacArthur Trophy, the Draddy Trophy, presented by HealthSouth, and releases the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) Standings.