Temple University Athletics
Niese Named Semifinalist for William V. Campbell Trophy
9.29.21 | Football
When looking at the criteria for the William V. Campbell Trophy, Justin Miller, Temple University's Senior Associate AD for Academics & Career Services, was quick to name Michael Niese as his Owls' candidate for the award.
Each year the National Football Foundation seeks nominees from college football teams at every level with the best combination of academics, community service, and on-field performance. It is considered by many to be the "Academic Heisman" and nicknamed as such.
On September 29, 2021, the NFF and College Hall of Fame officially announced Niese as a semifinalist for the distinguished award. By the end of October the list will be whittled down to a dozen finalists. The ultimate winner will be declared on December 7 at the NFF Annual Awards Dinner.
The native of Chesterfield, Missouri, does more than check all the boxes being in his final year of eligibility with a 3.38 undergraduate GPA, outstanding football ability, and exemplary school and community leadership.
Niese has taken the road less travelled to get to Temple but his future is taking off like a jet plane.
Coinciding with a high school football career as an offensive and defensive lineman for St. Louis University High School, Niese was part of a state championship water polo team his junior and senior seasons. After graduation he headed to the University of Dayton where he earned all-league recognition posting 22 straight starts at right guard for the Flyers.
Having earned a degree in mechanical engineering in December of 2019, Niese transferred to Temple to work on his master's degree and compete in his final year of eligibility.
The 2020 season was not a normal one for anyone but Niese made the most of it. He earned the starting right tackle spot and held it through five games before an injury kept him out of the lineup for one contest. He returned the following game to start at left guard. No doubt the 6-5, 295-pounder could start at any one of the five offensive line positions but has found a home in 2021 as the starting right tackle once again.
Making the most of his opportunities has been a strong theme for Niese.
The extra COVID year will keep him on scholarship to complete his master's degree in engineering. He also took advantage of being able to do an internship with Boeing this past summer working for the St. Louis based company virtually while working out with the Owls in Philadelphia.
Niese had always been interested in working for Boeing. "They are the biggest aerospace company in the world," he said. "They make planes, for our government and our military but they also supply the world, they sell planes overseas."
"Boeing has a very big presence in St Louis," said Niese. "I went to the careers on the Boeing website and found some things that fit my criteria."
After applying and interviewing through the human resource channels, Niese was hired as a materials and processing engineering intern for a next generation composites group. In layman's terms, he focused on research and development of materials testing to see if the properties and capabilities can be useful in the future.
Many of the details of the job are confidential due to the culture of the company and the sensitivity of the projects they work on. However, Niese was able to share that one skill that was important to develop was time management.
"Time management, balancing football and work, making sure to communicate with my bosses and football coaches…Playing D1 college football you have to have good time management or you're going to sink and not swim. My time management skills have been strengthened by this experience."
While the biggest challenge he said was from being virtual and not being able to completely form personal relationships with co-workers, Niese obviously made an impression.
"They said whenever you're done playing football give us a call."
"The mission of this team is to earn a degree with a plan for the future and I feel I'm set up pretty well with a plan for the future if football doesn't work out for me. I feel pretty comfortable that I'm in a win-win situation."
"We are called student-athletes for a reason, Most people who play this game don't get to choose when their time ends. It's a scout, or an injury that tells you when you're done. Most people who play college football should have that plan. I feel like, given my experiences and the degree I have, I'm set up well for the future either in football or out of football."
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Each year the National Football Foundation seeks nominees from college football teams at every level with the best combination of academics, community service, and on-field performance. It is considered by many to be the "Academic Heisman" and nicknamed as such.
On September 29, 2021, the NFF and College Hall of Fame officially announced Niese as a semifinalist for the distinguished award. By the end of October the list will be whittled down to a dozen finalists. The ultimate winner will be declared on December 7 at the NFF Annual Awards Dinner.
The native of Chesterfield, Missouri, does more than check all the boxes being in his final year of eligibility with a 3.38 undergraduate GPA, outstanding football ability, and exemplary school and community leadership.
Niese has taken the road less travelled to get to Temple but his future is taking off like a jet plane.
Coinciding with a high school football career as an offensive and defensive lineman for St. Louis University High School, Niese was part of a state championship water polo team his junior and senior seasons. After graduation he headed to the University of Dayton where he earned all-league recognition posting 22 straight starts at right guard for the Flyers.
Having earned a degree in mechanical engineering in December of 2019, Niese transferred to Temple to work on his master's degree and compete in his final year of eligibility.
The 2020 season was not a normal one for anyone but Niese made the most of it. He earned the starting right tackle spot and held it through five games before an injury kept him out of the lineup for one contest. He returned the following game to start at left guard. No doubt the 6-5, 295-pounder could start at any one of the five offensive line positions but has found a home in 2021 as the starting right tackle once again.
Making the most of his opportunities has been a strong theme for Niese.
The extra COVID year will keep him on scholarship to complete his master's degree in engineering. He also took advantage of being able to do an internship with Boeing this past summer working for the St. Louis based company virtually while working out with the Owls in Philadelphia.
Niese had always been interested in working for Boeing. "They are the biggest aerospace company in the world," he said. "They make planes, for our government and our military but they also supply the world, they sell planes overseas."
"Boeing has a very big presence in St Louis," said Niese. "I went to the careers on the Boeing website and found some things that fit my criteria."
After applying and interviewing through the human resource channels, Niese was hired as a materials and processing engineering intern for a next generation composites group. In layman's terms, he focused on research and development of materials testing to see if the properties and capabilities can be useful in the future.
Many of the details of the job are confidential due to the culture of the company and the sensitivity of the projects they work on. However, Niese was able to share that one skill that was important to develop was time management.
"Time management, balancing football and work, making sure to communicate with my bosses and football coaches…Playing D1 college football you have to have good time management or you're going to sink and not swim. My time management skills have been strengthened by this experience."
While the biggest challenge he said was from being virtual and not being able to completely form personal relationships with co-workers, Niese obviously made an impression.
"They said whenever you're done playing football give us a call."
"The mission of this team is to earn a degree with a plan for the future and I feel I'm set up pretty well with a plan for the future if football doesn't work out for me. I feel pretty comfortable that I'm in a win-win situation."
"We are called student-athletes for a reason, Most people who play this game don't get to choose when their time ends. It's a scout, or an injury that tells you when you're done. Most people who play college football should have that plan. I feel like, given my experiences and the degree I have, I'm set up well for the future either in football or out of football."
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