Landon Young Named Wuerffel Trophy Nominee
University of Kentucky junior offensive tackle Landon Young is one of 98 nominees for The Wuerffel Trophy, known as “College Football’s Premier Award for Community Service.” Named after 1996 Heisman Trophy-winning-quarterback Danny Wuerffel from the University of Florida, the Wuerffel Trophy is awarded to the Football Bowl Subdivision player that best combines exemplary community service with athletic and academic achievement.
Young, of Lexington, Kentucky, is one of the leaders for Kentucky football in terms of community service hours. He was recently named to the 2019 Allstate American Football Coaches Association Good Works Team, one of just 11 players from the FBS to earn the honor. Here are a few of his community service projects:
- Visited a local nursing home for a pre-Super Bowl party to give joy to the residents
- Guest speaker at local churches and elementary schools on seven different occasions, talking about life lessons, fighting through adversities, faith and football
- Volunteered at Habitat for Humanity
- Helped decorate Lexington’s Hope Center – a recovery program for women, with Christmas decorations
- Volunteered with Lexington Christian Church to do yard work for members not physically able to take care of their yard
- As an animal science major, has volunteered his time for eight straight years at a veterinary clinic in Cynthiana, Kentucky
- Participated in a one-week service trip to the Ethiopia in May where he helped delivered essential nutrition, supplies, hope and love to families living in Korah, a slum made up of all the trash accumulated in Addis Ababa … Visited an orphanage with approximately 80 children and took teenagers from Korah to play arcade games and see the Avengers movie. The teens had never been out of their village, been in a movie theatre or even seen a movie … Paired with a feeding program that supplies meals to government schools in Cherkos, a poorer region in Addis Ababa. The program began as a result of kids fainting and lack of focus in the classroom due to malnutrition at home, often missing breakfast in the morning and at night only leaving them with one meal per day … Helped served meals to the kids during lunch and played in the schoolyard during recess.
Semifinalists for the award will be announced on November 5 and finalists will be announced on November 18. The formal announcement of the 2019 recipient will be made at the National Football Foundation’s festivities in New York City on December 10. The presentation of the 2019 Wuerffel Trophy will occur at the 51st All Sports Association Awards Banquet on February 14, 2020 in Fort Walton Beach.
Past winners of the award are: Rudy Niswanger – LSU – 2005; Joel Penton – Ohio State – 2006; Paul Smith – Tulsa – 2008; Tim Tebow – Florida – 2008; Tim Hiller – Western Michigan – 2009; Sam Acho – Texas – 2010; Barrett Jones – Alabama – 2011; Matt Barkley – USC – 2012; Gabe Ikard – Oklahoma – 2013; Deterrian Shackelford – Ole Miss – 2014; Ty Darlington – Oklahoma – 2015; Trevor Knight – Texas A&M – 2016; Courtney Love – Kentucky – 2017; Drue Tranquill – Notre Dame – 2018.
The Wuerffel Trophy is a member of the National College Football Awards Association (NCFAA), which encompasses the most prestigious awards in college football. Founded in 1997, the NCFAA and its 25 awards now boast more than 800 recipients, dating back to 1935. Visit www.ncfaa.org to learn more about the association.
