Senior cornerback Antoine Huffman has been named a finalist for inaugural Danny Wuerffel Trophy by the All Sports Association of Fort Walton Beach, Fla.
The Wuerffel Trophy will honor a college football player who best combines exemplary community service with outstanding academic and athletic achievement. The award is named after Danny Wuerffel, who led the Florida Gators to the 1996 national championship, played six years in the National Football League, and has received national recognition for his humanitarian and community service efforts with Desire Street Ministries in New Orleans.
Huffman, a two-year starter at cornerback, set the Kentucky career record for pass breakups in Saturday?s win over Vanderbilt. Huffman has 26 pass breakups as a Wildcat. Off the field, he has graduated with a 3.45 grade-point average in telecommunications and is working on his master?s degree in mass communications. He has been involved in countless community service and campus activities during his years at UK and was named to the National Good Works Team by the American Football Coaches Association.
The 13 finalists for the Wuerffel Trophy include Huffman, offensive lineman Grayling Love of Arizona State; fullback Dane Todd of Nebraska; punter Luke Johnson of Southern Mississippi; defensive end Ryan Neill of Rutgers; tight end Troy Bienemann of Washington State; tight end David Thomas of Texas; linebacker David Justice of North Carolina; offensive lineman Rudy Niswanger of Louisiana State; linebacker James Anderson of Virginia Tech; quarterback Brett Basanez of Northwestern; and linebacker Brandon Hoyte of Notre Dame.
In addition to the Wuerffel Trophy, Huffman is a finalist for the Ronnie Lott IMPACT Trophy (national defensive player of the year/character); a candidate for the ARA National Sportsmanship Award; a semifinalist for the National Scholar-Athlete Award from the National Football Foundation; and has advanced to the national ballot for the Academic All-America Team.
Tennessee Edges Ahead in ?Big Blue Crush?: After three days days, Tennessee has edged ahead in the ?Big Blue Crush? blood drive by 55 pints, 1,578 to 1,523.
The Big Blue Crush is an annual competition between the University of Kentucky and the University of Tennessee to see which school can generate the most blood donations in a week. The Big Blue Crush is vital to the local blood supply as there is usually a slowdown in blood donations during the holiday season.
The Big Blue Crush will continue through Fri. Nov. 18. The winning school will be announced at the Tennessee-Kentucky game on Nov. 26. Kentucky leads the all-time series, 9-7, and there has been one tie.
In Lexington, fans may donate blood at the Central Kentucky Blood Center at 330 Waller Avenue. Donors receive a T-shirt, McDonald?s meal coupon, and are registered for prizes. For additional donation sites and times around Central and Eastern Kentucky, go to website www.ckbc.org and click on ?Big Blue Crush.?
Williams Looking Forward to Playing Against His Cousin: Roger Williams used to catch rides to Rockmart High School in Danny Ware’s Chevy Caprice Classic. On Saturday, Williams wouldn’t mind knocking the wheels out from under Ware.
Williams is Kentucky’s third-leading tackler from his free safety position. Ware is Georgia’s second-leading rusher.
“We’ve been calling, talking to each other, talking a little junk,” Ware said. “He told me he wants to try and run over me in the open field. I told him ‘Don’t even try.’ We’ll see what happens. It’s going to be a fun game.”
Ware and Williams, both sophomores, are cousins who have been close since kindergarten and played on Rockmart youth teams since they were 7.
“We go way back,” Williams said. “Best of friends.”
“Like brothers,” Ware said.
The two talked about going to the same college, but it didn’t work out that way. After a season at Hargrave Military Academy, the 6-foot-1, 216-pound Ware picked Georgia, where he has rushed for 390 yards this season.
The 6-foot, 200-pound Williams chose Kentucky over South Carolina, which wanted him to play receiver. He has started the past seven games at strong safety and has 55 tackles, including two for loss, along with two forced fumbles.
So who’s going to get the best of it if Williams is bearing down on Ware on Saturday?
“Hopefully, it’s me, but hey, he’s good, too,” Williams said. “I know what he’s capable of.”
(this article courtesy of Marc Weiszer of the Athens Banner-Herald)
