Florida’s placekicker, [autotag]Adam Mihalek[/autotag], is one of 81 nominees for the 2022 Burlsworth Trophy, according to a release from the award committee on Tuesday.
“The Burlsworth Trophy is given to the most outstanding football player in America who began his career as a walk-on and has shown outstanding performance on the field,” according to the award’s website, meaning “each nominee must have begun his first season of participation with FBS (D1) football program without financial aid of any kind from his university’s athletic department.”
Simply put, the award goes to the best player in college football that wasn’t a high-profile enough recruit out of high school to warrant a scholarship. Last year, long snapper [autotag]Marco Ortiz[/autotag] (who recently entered the transfer portal) represented Florida as a nominee, and now Mihalek has a shot to finish as a finalist.
“I always wanted to play at a big school,” Mihalek said to the University Athletic Association. “I wanted to play in the SEC. The SEC is pretty awesome. I really love the Gators.”
The committee will choose three finalists from the list of 81 nominees over the next month, and a ceremony will take place on Dec. 5 to honor all three and announce the winner.
The full list of nominees can be found here.
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