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O’Neill Named Semifinalist for Prestigious Campbell Trophy
FAIRFIELD, Conn. – Sacred Heart fifth-year wide receiver Andrew O'Neill has been named one of 179 semifinalists for the prestigious William V. Campbell Trophy, the National Football Foundation and College Football Hall of Fame announced on Wednesday. The award recognizes one individual as the top football scholar-athlete in the nation.
A native of Sewell, N.J., O'Neill was a 2017 All-Northeast Conference Second Team selection. He enters this weekend's tilt at Cornell seventh on the school's all-time list for career receiving yards (1,643) and third all-time in school history with 55 punt returns. He has at least one reception in 26 straight games and in 32 of the last 33 games overall. In the season opener against Lafayette on Sept. 1, he recorded his third career 100+ yard receiving game with 103 yards receiving and one touchdown. O'Neill is leading the team in 2018 with 5.3 receptions per game and 67.0 receiving yards per game. In 2017, he finished fourth in receptions per game (5.4) and fifth in receiving yards/game (67.2) in the NEC. He has appeared in all 36 games since the start of the 2015 season.
In the classroom, O'Neill finished his undergraduate courses with a 3.892 cumulative GPA. He is an eight-time Dean's List (3.6 or better) honoree, four-time NEC Commissioner's Honor Roll (3.75 or better) and a two-time CoSIDA Academic All-District selection (2016 and 2017).
The 179 semifinalists were all nominated by their school, who are limited to one nominee each. All candidates must be in their final season of athletic eligibility and hold a minimum 3.2 GPA on a 4.0 scale. Nominees must 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.
From the group of 179 semifinalists, the NFF will announce the 12-14 finalists on October 31. Each finalist will be recognized as part of the 2018 NFF National Scholar-Athlete Class, receiving an $18.000 post-graduate scholarship. The William V. Campbell Trophy winner, who will have his scholarship increased to $25,000, will be announced live at the NFF's Annual Awards Dinner on December 4 in New York.
The Pioneers will next take the field this Saturday afternoon at Cornell at 1:30 p.m.
