Gerald honored

Yale senior cornerback Casey Gerald has been named a National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame Scholar-Athlete and one of 15 finalists for the Draddy Trophy.

Here's the rest of the release I received from Yale.

Gerald, who is a Gates Scholar with a 3.68 GPA in political science, is applying for a Rhodes Scholarship (interested in philosophy and development studies) and has already been admitted to Harvard Business School (MBA). He received the 2008 Levi Jackson Scholarship for character, intellect, achievement and leadership. Gerald has eight solo tackles and 12 overall this fall.

Nominated by their schools, which are limited to one nominee each, candidates must be a senior or graduate student in their final year of eligibility, have a grade point average of at least 3.2 on a 4.0 scale, have outstanding football ability as a first team player and have demonstrated strong leadership and citizenship. Selected by the NFF Awards Committee, the 15 National Scholar-Athlete Award recipients will be honored at the 2008 NFF Annual Awards Dinner Dec. 9 at the Waldorf Astoria in New York City . The event will also include the induction of the 2008 College Football Hall of Fame and the presentation of several major awards.

"We set extremely high standards just to be considered as a member of the NFF National Scholar- Athlete class," said NFF Chairman Archie Manning , whose sons Peyton (Draddy winner) and Eli were NFF National Scholar-Athletes in 1997 and 2003, respectively. "These individuals far exceed even those high standards, defining well-rounded excellence throughout their college careers. They are true ambassadors of our mission and a testament to the positive influence of football's ability to build our nation's future leaders."

Each finalist will receive an $18,000 post-graduate scholarship, and one of the 15 will be announced as the recipient of the 2008 Draddy Trophy, presented by HealthSouth, which recognizes an individual as the absolute best scholar-athlete in the nation. Established to honor former NFF Chairman Vincent DePaul Draddy , a Manhattan College quarterback who developed the Izod and Lacoste brands, the award comes with a 24-inch, 25-pound bronze trophy and increases the winner's scholarship to $25,000. A total distribution of more than $275,000 in scholarships will be awarded that evening.

SCHOLAR-ATHLETES AND DRADDY FINALISTS
ANDREW BERRY - CB - Harvard University
RYAN BERRY - QB - South Dakota State University
CHASE DANIEL - QB - University of Missouri
BRIAN FREEMAN - OT - Carnegie Mellon University ( Pa. )
CASEY GERALD - CB - Yale University
GRAHAM HARRELL - QB - Texas Tech University
QUIN HARRIS - LB - Louisiana Tech University
JEFF HORINEK - LB - Colorado State University
RYAN KEES - DE - St. Cloud State University ( Minn. )
ALEX MACK - C - University of California ( Berkeley )
RYAN McDONALD - OL - University of Illinois
GREG MICHELI - QB - Mount Union College ( Ohio )
DARRYL RICHARD - DT - Georgia Tech
BRIAN ROBISKIE - WR - Ohio State University
LOUIE SAKODA - P/K - University of Utah

Also, a documentary highlighting the history of Ivy League football will air on NESN Saturday at 4 p.m. after the conclusion of the Harvard/Dartmouth game on the network. Former Yale running back Calvin Hill is among the former Ivy League stars who will be featured.