MORRISTOWN, N.J. – Selected as the best of the brightest from the college gridiron, The National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame (NFF) today announced North Dakota State University linebacker Kole Zimmerman is one of the 184 semi-finalists for the 2005 Draddy Trophy, presented by HealthSouth, and the candidates for the NFF 2005 National Scholar-Athlete Awards.

Known in many circles as the “Academic” Heisman, the Draddy Trophy continues to be one of college football’s most sought after and competitive awards, recognizing an individual as the absolute best in the country for his combined academic success, football performance and exemplary community leadership.

“The Draddy epitomizes everything right about college football,” said NFF President Steven J. Hatchell. “By recognizing this group, we highlight the countless hours and demands that each college football player must balance as they pursue their dreams of a higher education and their passion for football.  The NFF has both the privilege and responsibility to pay tribute to this exceptional group of role models, who truly embody the term student-athlete.”

Zimmerman, a 6-foot, 225-pound senior from Windom, Minn. (Windom H.S.), maintains a 3.82 grade point average majoring in history education with a minor in anthropology. He has been on the dean's list all semesters while at NDSU. Zimmmerman was named to the 2004 ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District second team and Academic All-Great West Football Conference first team, and the 2005 Division I Independent Baseball All-Academic team.

A starter at linebacker for the Bison over the last 19 games, Zimmerman recorded his first career interception and returned 27 yards for a TD in the season opener against Arkansas-Monticello. He added his second interception in the 26-13 win over Nicholls State on Oct. 1. Zimmerman is also a two-year letterwinner in baseball. He hit .275 with three home runs and 28 RBI last spring.

Nominated by their schools, which are limited to one nominee each, semi-finalists must be a senior or graduate student in their final year of eligibility, have a GPA of at least 3.0 on a 4.0 scale, have outstanding football ability as a first team player, and have demonstrated strong leadership and citizenship.  Established to honor former NFF Chairman Vincent dePaul Draddy, a Manhattan College quarterback who founded the Izod and Lacoste brands, the award comes with a stunning 24-inch, 25-pound bronze trophy and a $25,000 post-graduate scholarship.

With a 3.5 average GPA and majors such as biomedical engineering, the group includes 106 players who have earned all-conference recognition on the field and 125 captains. The offensive line produced the most nominees with 45. Linebackers came in second with 30 candidates. Offense outscored the defense with 88 to 80 hopefuls.  The 16 special teams aspirants complete the contingent. Nominees hail from all NCAA divisions and the NAIA: 63 from Division I-A; 44 from Division I-AA; 20 from Division II; 43 from Division III; and 14 from the NAIA.

The NFF Awards Committee, comprised of former coaches, Hall of Famers and college administrators, will select and announce 15 finalists on Oct. 27. The winner, also selected by the committee, will be announced at the 48th NFF Awards Dinner on December 6 at the Waldorf-Astoria in New York City. Each finalist will also be recognized that night as part of the 2005 National Scholar-Athlete Class, receiving an $18,000 post-graduate scholarship.

 
DIVISION I-A

Anderson, David; Colorado State
Avant, Jason; Michigan
Basanez, Brett; Northwestern
Bassler, Blade; Houston
Bazaldua, Nick; North Texas
Betts, Josh; Miami (Ohio)
Bienemann, Troy; Washington State
Bracken, Richard; Arkansas
Brooks, Darrell; Arizona
Castillo, David; Florida State
Clary, Jeromy; Kansas State
Culver, Lanell; Fresno State
Dawson, Trinity; Toledo
Day, Timothy; Oregon
Degory, Mike; Florida
Dewan, Brendan; Duke
Eslinger, Greg; Minnesota
Foltz, Ryan; California
Fredrick, Nate; Utah State
Gostkowski, Stephen; Memphis
Green, John; U.S. Naval Academy
Gross, John; Temple
Haas, Robert; Western Michigan
Hoyte, Brandon; Notre Dame
Huffman, Atonino; Kentucky
Hughes, Connor; Virginia
Jennings, Kelly; Miami (FL)
Johnson, Darcy; Central Florida
Johnson, Luke; Southern Mississippi
Justice, Doug; North Carolina
Kane, Kevin; Kansas
King, Jeffrey; Virginia Tech
Kirkwood, Gregory; U.S. Air Force Academy
Lorello, Mike; West Virginia
Love, Grayling; Arizona State
Lumpkin, William; Indiana
Miller, Matthew; Ohio
Mills, Michael; Tulsa
Mullins, James; Marshall
Neill, Ryan; Rutgers
Niswanger, Rudy; Louisiana State
Obomanu, Benjamin; Auburn
Pace, Andrew; Vanderbilt
Person, Francis; South Carolina
Reis, Christopher; Georgia Tech
Robinson, Michael; Pennsylvania State
Ryans, DeMeco; Alabama
Sanders, Aaron; Buffalo
Scandrett, Devarick; Middle Tennessee St.
Schnittker, Brandon; Ohio State
Sessler, Jon; Kent State
Shimmelman, Kevin; Stanford
Shockley, D.J.; Georgia
Smith, Bradley; Missouri
Swiger, Jason; Akron
Thaler, Mike; Bowling Green State
Thomas, John; Texas
Toone, Spencer; Utah
Torp, John; Colorado
Traina, Matthew; Tulane
Turner, Matthew; Purdue
Wenger, Edward; Florida International
White, Spencer; Brigham Young

DIVISION I-AA

Bennett, Maurice; Lafayette College
Bretsch, Philip; San Diego
Chromiak, Peter; Columbia
Curiel, Thomas; Cal Poly
Cwik, Joseph; Eastern Washington
Davis, Stafford; Illinois State
Degraffenreid, Adam; Charleston Southern
Dooley, Joshua; Dartmouth
Doughty, Reed; Northern Colorado
Farrel, Brook; Liberty
Forrest, Jason; Robert Morris
Golightly, Gerell; Hampton
Grande, Matthew; Marist College
Haley, Cole; Hofstra
Handlon, Matthew; Yale
Hartigan, Nick; Brown
Hoelscher, Matt; Stephen F. Austin State
Horvath, Ryan; Drake
Jetton, Mark; Elon
Johnson, Henry; Nicholls State
Johnson, Will; Harvard
Jones, Chris; McNeese State
Kehayas, Terence; Iona College
Kesic, Miro; Northeastern
Klein, Mitch; South Dakota State
Lulay, Travis; Montana State
MacIntyre, Shane; Montana
Magerko, Matthew; James Madison
McMahon, David; Butler
Mefford, Paul; Northwestern State
Moshier, Randall; Texas State
Parham, Charles; Alabama State
Parks, Thomas; Delaware
Pietzak, Eugene; Stony Brook
Pricolo, Edward; Sacret Heart
Richardson, Jordan; Austin Peay State
Rosser, Bryson; Tennessee State
Schabilion, John; Northern Iowa
Singleton, Jeff; Northern Arizona
Smith, Brandon; Sacramento State
Smith, Joshua; Wofford College
Smith, Steven; Southern Utah
Sniewski, Luke; Idaho State
Zimmerman, Kole; North Dakota State

DIVISION II

Callins, James; East Central
Cangelosi, Cory; Central Arkansas
Cooley, Brandon; Minnesota-Duluth
Dunn, Jermaine; Virginia Union
Fragale, Seth; Edinboro
Frisbee, Raymond; Ashland
Grace, Darryl; Central Missouri State
Koch, Jason; St. Cloud State
Koester, Brandon; Tiffin
Kratt, Roy; Winona State
Lamberson, Josh; Northwest Missouri St.
Lawrence, Charlie; Fayetteville State
Looney, Joshua; Washburn
Marr, James; Texas A&M  - Kingsville
McCoy, Patrick; West Texas A&M
Neville, Jeremy; Pittsburgh State
Price, Lloyd; California University of PA
Spankuch, Andrew; Southeastern Okla. State
Vaughn, Timothy; Kentucky State
Woodhead, Benjamin; Chadron State College

DIVISION III
Carlson, Andy; Puget Sound
Cathcart, Peter; St. Olaf College
Cochran, Grant; Rensselaer Polytechnic Inst.
Collings, Cameronl; Whitworth College
Connor, David; Thomas More College
Coughlin, Timothy; Trinity College
Darlage, Clayton; Franklin College
Day, Andrew; Wheaton College (IL)
Donaldson, Dwight; Linfield College
Edwards, Chris; Washington & Jefferson
Ellington, Matthew; Austin College
George, Joe; Baldwin-Wallace College
Good-Malloy, Nicholas; Salisbury
Hadbavny, Adam; Westminster College (PA)
Hammack, Andrew; Kenyon College
Hamoy, Dustin; Ferrum College
Hare, Benjamin; North Central College
Hawn, Matt; Saint John's (MN)
Kashnig, Casey; Earlham College
Kessler, Benjamin; St. Thomas
Knoblauch, Adam; Delaware Valley College
Kuzniar, Aaron; Augustana College (IL)
Lentz, Christopher; Frostburg State
Leszczynski, Jim; Wisconsin-Whitewater
Loiseau, Michael; Rowan
Magoon, Patrick; Tufts
Maimone, Santo; Case Western Reserve
Manning, Thomas; Mount Union College
Mikolaichik, Mike; Buffalo State College
Parnell, Andrew; Bethel College (MN)
Phillips, Douglas; John Carroll
Rhone, Thomas; Randolph-Macon College
Sanders, James; Johns Hopkins
Satterfield, Darrell; Thiel College
Schlack, Douglas; Widener
Sleight, Travis; Olivet College
Swartzentruber, Michael; Centre College
Tamillow, Robert; Chicago
Tanney, Mitch; Monmouth College (IL)
Toboy, Nicholas; Kalamazoo College
Venturino, Gerald; Moravian College
Wiethoff, Ross; DePauw
Ziegler, Justin; Ursinus College

NAIA
Emmert, Tyler; Carroll College (MT)
Hemje, Mark; Hastings College
Jones, Bred; William Jewell College
Keller, Scott; Nebraska Wesleyan
Labus, Garrett; Friends
Rohrbough, Christopher; Georgetown College (KY)
Scalmato, Vincent; Urbana
Scheel, Evan; Malone College
Schmidly, James; Evangel
Smail, Justin; Ottawa
Stroud, Ryan; Mid-American Nazarene
Synowicki, John; Dana College
Van Kley, Kurtis; Northwestern College (IA)
Walsh, Brian; Jamestown College

Launched in 1959, the NFF scholar-athlete program became the first initiative in history to credit a player for both academic and athletic accomplishments. The Draddy, first awarded in 1990, adds to the program’s mystique.

Past Draddy winners, including two Rhodes Scholars, a Rhodes Scholar finalist, a Heisman winner and a 3.7 average GPA, are: Chris Howard (Air Force, 1990); John B. Culpepper (Florida, 1991); Jim Hansen (Colorado, 1992); Thomas Burns (Virginia, 1993); Robert Zatechka (Nebraska, 1994);Bobby Hoying (Ohio State, 1995); Danny Wuerffel (Florida, 1996); Peyton Manning (Tennessee, 1997); Matt Stinchcomb (Georgia, 1998); Chad Pennington (Marshall, 1999); Kyle Vanden Bosch (Nebraska, 2000); Joaquin Gonzalez (Miami, 2001); Brandon Roberts (Washington University-Mo., 2002); Craig Krenzel (Ohio State, 2003); and Michael Munoz (Tennessee, 2004).

HealthSouth is one of the nation's largest providers of outpatient surgery, diagnostic imaging and rehabilitative healthcare services, operating facilities nationwide. HealthSouth can be found on the Web at www.healthsouth.com.

With 119 chapters and over 10,000 members nationwide, The National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame, a non-profit educational organization, runs programs designed to use the power of amateur football in developing scholarship, citizenship and athletic achievement in America’s young people. Find more at www.footballfoundation.org.