Martinez Named Semifinalist for Campbell Trophy
Sep 29, 2022 | Football
MANHATTAN, Kan. – Kansas State senior quarterback Adrian Martinez is one of 156 players from all NCAA Divisions and the NAIA – including 73 FBS players – to be named a semifinalist for the 2022 William V. Campbell Trophy, the National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame (NFF) has announced. 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.
Martinez, a product of Fresno, California and transfer from the University of Nebraska, is the eighth Wildcat to be named a semifinalist in the last years. Other semifinalists include Tyler Lockett (2014), Stanton Weber (2015), Will Davis (2016), Trent Tanking (2017), Dalton Risner (2018), Adam Holtorf (2019) and Landry Weber (2021). Lockett, Risner, Holtorf and Tysyn Hartman (2011) have all been named finalists for the award.
"These 156 impressive candidates truly represent the scholar-athlete ideal," said NFF Chairman Archie Manning, whose sons Peyton (Campbell Trophy winner) and Eli were named NFF National Scholar-Athletes in 1997 and 2003, respectively. "During the past seven decades, the NFF National Scholar-Athlete Awards have recognized 891 college football players who excelled as the best our great sport has to offer. This year's semifinalists build on the tradition, further illustrating the power of football in developing the next generation of influential leaders."
Nominated by their schools, which are limited to one nominee each, candidates for the awards must be a senior or graduate student in their final year of playing eligibility, have a GPA of at least 3.2 on a 4.0 scale, have outstanding football ability as a first team player or significant contributor and have demonstrated strong leadership and citizenship. The class is selected each year by the NFF Awards Committee, which is comprised of a nationally recognized group of media, College Football Hall of Famers and athletics administrators.
Martinez has played in 43 career games with 42 starts during his four-plus year career, and he ranks in the top 10 nationally among active players in 27 career categories, while he is the only active player in the nation with 9,000 career passing yards and 2,000 career rushing yards.
He led the Wildcats to a victory at No. 6 Oklahoma last week after accounting for 382 yards of total offense and five touchdowns. His four rushing scores against the Sooners were tied for the third most in a game in school history. Under Martinez's direction, K-State totaled 509 yards of offense, its most since the 2019 Bowling Green game (521 yards) and the most in a Big 12 contest since the 2014 Texas Tech game (353 yards). Following the game, Martinez was named the Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week and the Davey O'Brien Award National Quarterback of the Week.
Off the field, Martinez has been honored multiple times, including being a semifinalist for last year's Jason Witten Collegiate Man of the Year Award, while he was a three-time Academic All-Big Ten selection. He graduated from Nebraska in 2021 with a degree in management and a minor in economics holding a 3.549 GPA.
The NFF will announce 12-14 finalists on Oct. 26, and each of them will receive an $18,000 postgraduate scholarship as a member of the 2022 NFF National Scholar-Athlete Class. The finalists will travel to Bellagio Resort & Casino in Las Vegas for the 64th NFF Annual Awards Dinner on Dec. 6, where their accomplishments will be highlighted in front of one of the most powerful audiences in all of sports.
No. 25 Kansas State hosts Texas Tech on Saturday inside Bill Snyder Family Stadium. The game, which kicks off at 11 a.m., will be shown on Big 12 Now on ESPN+.
Fewer than 250 tickets remain for the game against the Red Raiders, and those tickets can be purchased online at www.k-statesports.com/tickets or by phone at 1-800-221-CATS.
Martinez, a product of Fresno, California and transfer from the University of Nebraska, is the eighth Wildcat to be named a semifinalist in the last years. Other semifinalists include Tyler Lockett (2014), Stanton Weber (2015), Will Davis (2016), Trent Tanking (2017), Dalton Risner (2018), Adam Holtorf (2019) and Landry Weber (2021). Lockett, Risner, Holtorf and Tysyn Hartman (2011) have all been named finalists for the award.
"These 156 impressive candidates truly represent the scholar-athlete ideal," said NFF Chairman Archie Manning, whose sons Peyton (Campbell Trophy winner) and Eli were named NFF National Scholar-Athletes in 1997 and 2003, respectively. "During the past seven decades, the NFF National Scholar-Athlete Awards have recognized 891 college football players who excelled as the best our great sport has to offer. This year's semifinalists build on the tradition, further illustrating the power of football in developing the next generation of influential leaders."
Nominated by their schools, which are limited to one nominee each, candidates for the awards must be a senior or graduate student in their final year of playing eligibility, have a GPA of at least 3.2 on a 4.0 scale, have outstanding football ability as a first team player or significant contributor and have demonstrated strong leadership and citizenship. The class is selected each year by the NFF Awards Committee, which is comprised of a nationally recognized group of media, College Football Hall of Famers and athletics administrators.
Martinez has played in 43 career games with 42 starts during his four-plus year career, and he ranks in the top 10 nationally among active players in 27 career categories, while he is the only active player in the nation with 9,000 career passing yards and 2,000 career rushing yards.
He led the Wildcats to a victory at No. 6 Oklahoma last week after accounting for 382 yards of total offense and five touchdowns. His four rushing scores against the Sooners were tied for the third most in a game in school history. Under Martinez's direction, K-State totaled 509 yards of offense, its most since the 2019 Bowling Green game (521 yards) and the most in a Big 12 contest since the 2014 Texas Tech game (353 yards). Following the game, Martinez was named the Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week and the Davey O'Brien Award National Quarterback of the Week.
Off the field, Martinez has been honored multiple times, including being a semifinalist for last year's Jason Witten Collegiate Man of the Year Award, while he was a three-time Academic All-Big Ten selection. He graduated from Nebraska in 2021 with a degree in management and a minor in economics holding a 3.549 GPA.
The NFF will announce 12-14 finalists on Oct. 26, and each of them will receive an $18,000 postgraduate scholarship as a member of the 2022 NFF National Scholar-Athlete Class. The finalists will travel to Bellagio Resort & Casino in Las Vegas for the 64th NFF Annual Awards Dinner on Dec. 6, where their accomplishments will be highlighted in front of one of the most powerful audiences in all of sports.
No. 25 Kansas State hosts Texas Tech on Saturday inside Bill Snyder Family Stadium. The game, which kicks off at 11 a.m., will be shown on Big 12 Now on ESPN+.
Fewer than 250 tickets remain for the game against the Red Raiders, and those tickets can be purchased online at www.k-statesports.com/tickets or by phone at 1-800-221-CATS.
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