Punter Drue Chrisman Named Semifinalist for William C. Campbell Trophy

Senior holds over 3.30 GPA and is already working toward his second undergraduate degree.

Ohio State senior punter Drue Chrisman has been selected as one of 199 semifinalists across the country for the William V. Campbell Trophy. The award is presented annually to an outstanding senior scholar-athlete through the National Football Foundaiton (NFF) and College Football HOF.

The NFF Awards committee will pick a winner come December from a shortened list of 12-15 individuals, each of whom receives $18,000 toward a postgraduate scholarship. Last season, defensive back Jordan Fuller (now with the Los Angeles Rams) represented the Buckeyes as a finalist.

Criteria for the award includes a minimum grade-point average of 3.20 and combines notable accomplishments on the field with academic success and exemplary off-the-field leadership/citizenship.

Chrisman (Lawrenceburg, Ind./Cincinnati LaSalle High School) holds a 3.334 GPA and graduated this past December with his degree in consumer and family financial services. He is now pursuing a second undergraduate degree from Ohio State majoring in human development and family science.

The 6-foot-3 special teamer ranks fourth in Ohio State history with a career punting average of 43.9 yards, and sits third all-time in number of punts placed inside the 20-yard line (72). A 2x All-Big Ten selection, he has twice been a semifinalist for the Ray Guy Award, which recognized the nation’s top punter.

Off the field, he’s gained notoriety for his bottle-flipping talents that have since helped raise more than $15,000 for the World Wildlife Fund’s Australia brushfire relief efforts during a 24-hour flipping marathon. In January, he flipped 16-ounce water bottles for 24 hours as a live stream audience on YouTube watched – and donated. He estimates that he flipped at least 30,000 bottles to get to his total of 22,067 successful flips.

Vut those initiatives are topped by his endeavor of growing his hair out for a full year in 2016, and later donating it to Pantene Beautiful Lengths in honor of his grandmother, who had been diagnosed with breast cancer.

Chrisman will be vying to become Ohio State’s 23rd NFF National Scholar-Athlete overall, and just the program’s third winner of the Campbell Trophy (Bobby Hoying in 1995 and Craig Krenzel in 2003.

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