BYU's Riley Nelson named to the 2012 Senior CLASS Award Watch List

OVERLAND PARK, KAN. – BYU senior Riley Nelson has been named to the 2012 Senior CLASS Award Wach List announced Thursday.

Thirty NCAA® Football Bowl Subdivision student-athletes who excel both on and off the field were selected as candidates. To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I FBS senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence – community, classroom, character and competition.

Nelson, who is also on the 2012 Maxwell Award and Davey O’Brien National Quarterback Award Watch Lists, led BYU to a 6-1 record as a starter in 2011 and helped the Cougars to its fifth 10-win season in the last six years. A 2012 team captain, Nelson has led BYU to a 2-1 record so far this season and was named the FBS Independent Co-Offensive Player of the Week for his performance against Washington State. The Logan, Utah, product set a career high for a half with 244 passing yards against Weber State.

A tough competitor on the field, Nelson has thrown at least one touchdown pass in 11 consecutive games played, dating back to when he was the backup coming in vs. Utah State in 2011. The left-handed dual threat is No. 3 all-time at BYU in career quarterback rushing yards with 733.

Nelson not only excels on the field but also in the classroom, where he has earned the honor of being an Academic All-Mountain West Conference student-athlete. The senior, who is majoring in Spanish, has maintained a 3.24 GPA while preparing to go to medical school.

A member of the 2010 Allstate AFCA Good Works Team, Nelson is a respected leader on and off the football field with a strong desire to serve others. He has participated in countless service activities to assist people in the communities in which he lives and to provide a positive example to youth specifically. An influential speaker, Nelson has had a positive impact on thousands of youth and their parents as a regular feature speaker at functions for youth.

The candidate class will be narrowed to 10 finalists midway through the regular season, and those 10 names will be placed on the official ballot. Ballots will be distributed through a nationwide voting system to media, coaches and fans, who will select one candidate who best exemplify excellence in the four Cs of community, classroom, character and competition. Ã¢â‚¬Â¨

For more information on all the candidates, visit seniorCLASSaward.com.

Football Candidates
Ryan Aplin, Arkansas State
Montee Ball, Wisconsin
Johnthan Banks, Mississippi State
Matt Barkley, USC
Jeff Braun, West Virginia
Rex Burkhead, Nebraska
Blaize Foltz, TCU
Rashard Hall, Clemson
Duron Harmon, Rutgers
Dustin Hopkins, Florida State
Travis Johnson, San Jose State
Barrett Jones, Alabama
Landry Jones, Oklahoma
Collin Klein, Kansas State
A.J. Klein, Iowa State
Jeff Locke, UCLA
Philip Lutzenkirchen, Auburn
Riley Nelson, BYU
Kyle Quinn, Arizona
Sean Renfree, Duke
Adam Replogle, Indiana
Luke Ruff, Wyoming
Jason Schepler, Northern Illinois
John Simon, Ohio State
Caleb Sturgis, Florida
Matt Summers-Gavin, California
Manti Te'o, Notre Dame
Omoregie Uzzi, Georgia Tech
Stephen Warner, Louisiana Tech
Tyler Wilson, Arkansas

ABOUT THE AWARD
An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School, the Senior CLASS Award honors the attributes of senior student-athletes in four areas: community, classroom, character and competition. The award program is designed exclusively for college seniors who are utilizing their complete athletic eligibility, remaining committed to their university and pursuing the many rewards a senior season can bring. Premier Sports Management manages the award. 

ABOUT THE NCAA
The NCAA is a membership-led nonprofit association of colleges and universities committed to supporting academic and athletics opportunities for more than 400,000 student-athletes at more than 1,000 member colleges and universities. Each year, more than 54,000 student-athletes compete in NCAA championships in Divisions I, II and III sports. Visit NCAA.org and NCAA.com for more details about the Association, its goals and members and corporate partnerships that help support programsfor student-athletes.

 NCAA and its marks are licensed by or trademarks of the National Collegiate Athletic Association.