IRVING, Texas – Valdosta State senior football wide receiver Brian Saunds was named a semifinalist for the 2020 William V. Campbell Trophy as announced by the National Football Foundation & College Football Hall of Fame (NFF).  He is one of an all-time record 199 student-athletes from all levels of collegiate football selected as a semifinalist for the annual award.
 
"This is terrific news. To set a record for the number of Campbell nominees is extra special during the pandemic because it shows how the stature of the award continues to rise even during these challenging times," said NFF Chairman Archie Manning, whose sons Peyton (Campbell Trophy® winner) and Eli were named NFF National Scholar-Athletes in 1997 and 2003, respectively. "We have worked hard to expand the profile of the award, and it's extremely gratifying to have so many schools participate this year with nominations. We believe it sends an important message to the younger student-athletes that you truly can do it all, succeeding on the field, in the classroom and as leaders in the community."
 
Celebrating its 31st year, the award recognizes an individual as the absolute best football scholar-athlete in the nation for his combined academic success, football performance and exemplary leadership. The NFF will announce 12-to-14 finalists in November, and each of them will receive an $18,000 postgraduate scholarship as a member of the 2020 NFFNational Scholar-Athlete Class Presented by Fidelity Investments. Later this year, one member of the class will be declared as the winner of the 31st Campbell Trophy® Presented by Mazda, having his postgraduate scholarship increased to $25,000 and receiving his own 25-pound-bronze version of the iconic statue.
 
Saunds, a native of Darien, Ga., is working on a graduate degree in curriculum and intergraded technology with a current 3.53 grade-point average.  He graduated with a middle grades education undergraduate degree December 14, 2019.  All Campbell Trophy nominees must have maintained a cumulative 3.2 GPA or higher to be eligible.
 
He is one of 20 NCAA Division II student-athletes named semifinalists for the prestigious award.  Saunds is the only semifinalist from the Gulf South Conference.
 
Saunds certainly has been one of the main standouts for the Blazers' outstanding success during his three-years in Titletown.  Saunds has helped the team to a 25-1 record over the last 26 games, including a 14-0 mark in 2018 as VSU won its fourth national title, marking the first undefeated season in school history.  VSU has won back-to-back Gulf South Conference titles in 2018 and 2019. The Blazers won a GSC-record 25-straight games from the final game of 2017 through the regular season of 2019.  
 
For his career, has played in 34 games with 25 starts, while catching 114 passes for 1,782 yards and 21 touchdowns.  He has 40 punt returns for 466 yards and 2,354 all-purpose yards.  Saunds earned GSC All-Academic honors in 2019 and named D2 Conference Commissioner's Association (D2CCA) all-region honors that season.  He set the school-record against Florida Tech with a blistering 246 receiving yards on ten catches on Oct. 19, 2019.  He also was nominated for the AllState AFCA Good Works Team in May 2020.
 
As a sophomore in 2018, Saunds earned second team all-conference honors, catching 37 passes for 691 yards and ten touchdowns.  He helped lead an offense that led the nation in scoring at a blistering 52.0 points per game and the Blazers were fourth nationally in total offense at 523.9 yards per game.  
 
Academically, he has been named to the GSC Academic Honor Roll each of his years at VSU and earned GSC All-Academic honors in both 2018 and 2019, while he earned Academic All-District honors as selected by CoSIDA in 2019.  Saunds has been named to the VSU Dean's List each of his eight semesters at VSU.  He has been a member of the VSU Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) for three years is on the SAAC Executive Council in 2020-21 as Treasurer/Fundraising.    
 
Not only are on the field accolades and in the classroom honors part of the nomination process, but leadership and community service, too.  Saunds also has excelled in that as he has done numerous community service projects at VSU.  He has read to students at elementary schools, worked with Habitat for Humanity, Relay for Life, volunteered at a local grocery store, worked at a day care and helped with a blood drive.  In 2017, he put in 82 hours of community service, 80 hours in 2018 and 68 hours in 2019. 
 
Saunds completed a mission trip in June of 2016 to Gonaives, Hati, prior to coming to VSU where he helped supply people with food and taught math and English in schools.  He also served in the Army for six years prior to attending college.
 
About the William V. Campbell Trophy
Launched in 1959, the NFF National Scholar-Athlete Awards Presented by Fidelity Investments celebrate their 62nd year in 2020. The awards were the first initiative in history to grant postgraduate scholarships based on both a player's academic and athletic accomplishments, and the NFF has recognized 866 outstanding individuals since the program's inception. This year's postgraduate scholarships will push the program's all-time distribution to more than $11.9 million. The trophy was first awarded in 1990, adding to the program's prestige. Past recipients include two Rhodes Scholars, a Rhodes Scholar finalist, two Heisman Trophy winners and seven first-round NFL draft picks.
 
Named in honor of the late Bill Campbell, the trophy has been prominently displayed inside its official home at the New York Athletic Club since 2013, and the winner is honored each year during a special luncheon at the venue.
 
An All-Ivy League player and the captain of Columbia's 1961 Ivy League championship team, Bill Campbell found his true calling after an unlikely career change at age 39 from Columbia football coach to advertising executive. His ability to recruit, develop and manage talented executives – all lessons learned on the gridiron – proved to be a critical component of his ability to inspire his business teams to the highest levels of success.
 
As the CEO and chairman of Intuit, Campbell's unique talent in building teams allowed him to become one of the most influential individuals in Silicon Valley, using the lessons of the gridiron to mentor Steve Jobs of Apple, Jeff Bezos of Amazon, Sheryl Sandberg of Facebook, Larry Page, Sergey Brin, Sundar Pichai and Eric Schmidt of Google, Scott Cook and Brad Smith of Intuit, John Doerr of Kleiner-Perkins, Dick Costolo at Twitter, Diane Greene of VMWare and countless others. His contributions were recently captured in a book titled "The Trillion Dollar Coach," and during his lifetime, he affectionally became known as the "Coach of Silicon Valley."
 
Campbell joined the NFF Board in 1978 while he was still a coach at Columbia, and he continued to serve with distinction until his passing in 2016. In 2004, the NFF recognized Campbell's contributions and accomplishments by presenting him with the NFF Gold Medal, the organization's highest honor. In 2009, the NFF renamed college football's premier scholar-athlete award as The William V. Campbell Trophy® in his honor.