IRVING, Texas—The National Football Foundation and College Football Hall of Fame announced today that Hobart College senior free safety
Kai Brandford is a semifinalists for the 2018 William V. Campbell Trophy. He is the only semifinalist from the Liberty League, one of 41 from across Division III and one of 179 total semifinalists for college football's top scholar-athlete award.
A Dean's List student, Brandford is majoring in international relations and music. He's a two-time Liberty League All-Academic selection and was elected to the 2017 CoSIDA Academic All-District team. Brandford also earned distinction as a 2018 Arthur Ashe Jr. Sports Scholar. He is a two-time recipient of Hobart's Arnold Scholar-Athlete Award.
On the field, Brandford is in his second season as a starter after earning All-Liberty League honorable mention in 2017. In four games this season, he has 18 tackles (7th on the team), a fumble recovery and a blocked punt. This past Saturday, Brandford had a season-high seven tackles and blocked a punt at Endicott.
Hobart is 2-2 this season and begins conference play on Oct. 6, when the Statesmen host Union College.
In 35 career games, Brandford has produced 87 tackles, 2.5 for loss, 0.5 sacks, seven pass breakups, two fumble recoveries and a forced fumble. He recorded a career-high 42 tackles and five pass breakups as a starter last season. Brandford logged a career-high 14 tackles at Ithaca in 2017.
In addition to his academic and athletic pursuits, Brandford has been an active member of the campus community. He is a member of the Hobartones, an acapella group; Sankofa; and Phi Sigma Kappa, serving as the secretary in 2016-17. He was also a member of the 2017 Model African Union. Brandford participated in the Colleges' study abroad program in South Africa during the 2018 spring semester. There, he volunteered at a secondary school, tutoring students in English and also volunteered with the AMP Music Project, offering instrumental, vocal, and sound technology studies to students in the Joza community of Grahamstown.
The Campbell Trophy recognizes an individual as the absolute best football scholar-athlete in the nation. The NFF will announce 12-14 finalists on Oct. 31, and each of them will receive an $18,000 postgraduate scholarship as a member of the 60th NFF National Scholar-Athlete Class. The finalists will travel to New York City for the NFF Annual Awards Dinner on Dec. 4, where their accomplishments will be highlighted and one member of the class will be declared the winner of the 29th William V. Campbell Trophy® and have his postgraduate scholarship increased to $25,000.
Candidates for the awards 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. 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.
"These 179 impressive candidates truly represent the scholar-athlete ideal," said NFF Chairman Archie Manning, whose sons Peyton (Campbell Trophy® winner) and Eli were named NFF National Scholar-Athletes in 1997 and 2003, respectively. "For 60 years, the NFF National Scholar-Athlete program has showcased more than 800 college football players who have been successful on the football field, in the classroom and in the community. This year's semifinalists further illustrate the power of our great sport in developing the next generation of influential leaders."
