Senior tight end Jacob Tamme is a finalist for the fifth-annual Bobby Bowden Award given by the Fellowship of Christian Athletes.

The honor recognizes a Division I football player who epitomizes a student-athlete and conducts himself as a faith model in the community, in the classroom, and on the field. Nominees must have at least a 3.0 career grade-point average and be endorsed by the school?s head coach and director of athletics. The award is named after Florida State University coach Bobby Bowden.

The winner will be announced Friday, Jan. 4, in New Orleans, La., at the FCA Banquet held in conjunction with the national championship game. The additional finalists are Dionte Johnson of Ohio State and Jeremy Leman of Illinois.

Tamme (Danville, Ky.) coordinates the team?s weekly Bible study and road-trip devotionals. He has been named to the National Good Works Team for community service by the American Football Coaches Association.

In the classroom, Tamme completed his bachelor?s degree in Integrated Strategic Communications with a 3.82 GPA. He is now in his second year of study for his Master?s in Business Administration and has a 3.83 graduate school GPA. He was named first-team Academic All-America by the College Sports Information Directors of America and chosen as the Southeastern Conference Scholar-Athlete of the Year by the SEC coaches.

On the field, Tamme has been a first-team All-SEC pick each of the last two seasons and is Kentucky?s all-time top pass-catching tight end. He had 56 receptions for 619 yards and six touchdowns in the 2007 season. He was a clutch receiver for the Wildcats, with key TD catches in the wins over Louisville, LSU, and Florida State. He also set up the game-winning touchdown at Vanderbilt with a 34-yard pass reception.