Yale senior offensive lineman Ed McCarthy is one of 17 finalists for the National Football Foundation’s 2006 Draddy Trophy, often referred to as college football’s academic Heisman.

Selected by the NFF Awards Committee, comprised of former coaches, Hall of Famers and college administrators, the 17 National Scholar-Athlete Award recipients will be honored at the 49th NFF Awards Dinner on Dec. 5 at the Waldorf-Astoria in New York City.

McCarthy becomes the ninth Bulldog honored. His father, Rick McCarthy, was the first Yale football player to be honored by the NFF in 1967.

A preseason All-America selection, McCarthy, a history major, has twice earned first team Academic All-League honors and ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District recognition.

The 6-foot-5, 305-pound McCarthy earned first team All-Ivy honors in 2005 and second team recognition in 2004. In 2003, he became the first offensive lineman in Ivy League history to claim a major award when he was named Rookie of the Year.