Empey a finalist for the Pop Warner College Football Award

LANGHORNE, Pa. — Pop Warner Little Scholars, the nation’s oldest youth football organization, has named BYU senior center James Empey one of six finalists for its 12th Annual Pop Warner College Football Award. 

The award was established in 2010 to recognize a senior who has made a difference on the field, in the classroom and in his community, and serves as a role model to Pop Warner’s young student athletes. The 2021 winner of the Pop Warner Little Scholars National College Football Award will be announced in January. 

A team captain for the Cougars, Empey has started in all 41 games he has played over his BYU career. He was 2018 FWAA Freshman All-American and was named a 2021 preseason All-American by both Phil Steele and Athlon Sports. 

In addition to the Pop Warner College Football Award, Empey waas a semifinalist for the Jason Witten Collegiate Man of the Year Award, the Wuerffel Trophy, the NFF William V. Campbell Trophy and the Rotary Lombardi Award. He is also a candidate for the 2021 AFCA Good Works Team and was selected to the Rimington Award Watch List for the third time and the Outland Trophy Watch List for the second-straight year. 

Empey has been active in serving others off the field through volunteer work in the community. He has worked with BYU head coach Kalani Sitake's More to Life Foundation in California and New York and organized football's involvement with the My Tiny Hero program in Utah, raising awareness for congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH). 

In the classroom, Empey is a three-time CoSIDA Academic All-District selection who graduated this summer with a 3.84 GPA as a finance major with a minor in nonprofit management. He is a two-time team captain, member of the BYU Football Leadership Council and served on the Student Athlete Advisory Council SAAC at BYU.

Previous winners of the Pop Warner College Football Award include Prince Amukamara (Nebraska), Chase Minnifield (Virginia), Sean Renfree (Duke), Gary Bush (Purdue), Jordan Richards (Stanford), Brandon Chubb (Wake Forest), Evan Engram (Mississippi), Braxton Berrios (Miami), CJ Conrad (Kentucky), Michael Pittman, Jr. (USC) and last year’s award winner, former Notre Dame and current New Orleans Saints quarterback, Ian Book.

“The college athletic landscape has changed significantly over the past year, from COVID to NIL, and more than ever athletes are being called on to be role models and leaders in their communities,” said Jon Butler, executive director of Pop Warner Little Scholars. “We believe athletes have a duty to lead on and off the field, and what they do off of it is often much more important and impactful. It’s inspiring to see so many college players who embody Pop Warner’s fundamental values of sportsmanship, academics and community service at the highest level and we are honored to have such an amazing group of finalists who have represented themselves, their universities and their communities with distinction.” 

Founded in 1929, Pop Warner Little Scholars is the nation’s oldest youth football organization and the only youth sports organization that emphasizes academics as a prerequisite for participation. Pop Warner participants enjoy the opportunity to learn and compete in an atmosphere that emphasizes fun, safety, academics and character.