Temple University Athletics
Niese Named Semifinalist for William V. Campbell Trophy
9.29.21 | Football
IRVING, Texas - The National Football Foundation (NFF) announced today Temple offensive lineman Michael Niese as a semifinalist for the William V. Campbell Trophy which is annually bestowed to the nation's top football scholar-athlete.
Niese fits all the criteria for the award, which states that candidates must be a senior or graduate student in their final year of playing eligibility, have a GPA of at least 3.2 on a 4.0 scale, have outstanding football ability as a first team player or significant contributor and have demonstrated strong leadership and citizenship.
Off the field, Niese earned a degree in mechanical engineering in December of 2019, and transferred to Temple to work on his master's degree and compete in his final year of eligibility. Following the 2020 season, the extra COVID-19 year kept 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.
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.
On the field, Niese has started all four games for the Owls at right tackles and six out of seven games last season, only missing one game due to injury. According to Pro Football Focus, Niese has graded out as the 23rd best tackle in the nation (83.7) through four games.
Niese fits all the criteria for the award, which states that candidates must be a senior or graduate student in their final year of playing eligibility, have a GPA of at least 3.2 on a 4.0 scale, have outstanding football ability as a first team player or significant contributor and have demonstrated strong leadership and citizenship.
Off the field, Niese earned a degree in mechanical engineering in December of 2019, and transferred to Temple to work on his master's degree and compete in his final year of eligibility. Following the 2020 season, the extra COVID-19 year kept 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.
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.
On the field, Niese has started all four games for the Owls at right tackles and six out of seven games last season, only missing one game due to injury. According to Pro Football Focus, Niese has graded out as the 23rd best tackle in the nation (83.7) through four games.
The Campbell Trophy is a member of the National College Football Awards Association, which is responsible for the most renowned awards in college football. Previous winners of the award include Justin Herbert (Oregon), Peyton Manning (Tennessee), Chad Pennington (Marshall), and Tim Tebow (Florida).
The National Football Foundation will announce the finalists later this season, with Niese having an opportunity to receive an $18,000 postgraduate scholarship. Shortly after that, one member will be declared the winner of the "Academic Heisman", having his scholarship increased to $25,000 and earning an appearance on the Home Depot College Football Awards Show on ESPN.
Players Mentioned
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