Utah QB Drew Lisk semifinalist for William V. Campbell Trophy

After being named to the William V. Campbell preseason award watch list, Utah quarterback Drew Lisk is now a semifinalist for the most prestigious and desirable "academic" award in college football

To sum up Drew Lisk's high school and college football journey, all it would wake is one word; inspirational.

After arguably the best prep career by a Utah high school quarterback, Lisk turned down multiple opportunities to play football at the next level just to walk-on to the Utes.

He joined the Utes beginning the 2016 season — following a decorated career at Jordan High School in Draper where he finished his senior season with 4,706 yards of total offense, sixth best in state history.

After redshirting that season, Lisk earned his athletic letter in 2017 by directing Utah's final drive against West Virginia in the Heart of Dallas Bowl. He then played in one game again in 2018, this time appearing against Colorado — following him receiving a scholarship prior to the start of the season.

This past season is when Lisk saw the majority of his action, appearing in four games throughout the season. He finished 6-for-6 for 38 yards through the air against Idaho State and with 1-for-3 for 14 yards against No. 17 Arizona State.

Now a senior, Lisk is battling with graduate transfer Jake Bentley and sophomore Cam Rising for the right to replace Tyler Huntley this upcoming season — a competition in which head coach Kyle Whittingham says is a legitimate three-way battle for the spot

While Bentley is expected to win the job for the upcoming fall season, Lisk has been lauded for his smarts and has embraced his role as leader, helping both Rising and Bentley acclimate to the offensive schemes and reads.

But one thing Lisk has that neither Bentley and Rising have, is that he's been named a semifinalist for the most prestigious and desirable "academic" award in college football; the William V. Campbell award.

Congratulations, @drewlisker!

Read: https://t.co/IMG5JZfEnu pic.twitter.com/ZO8pq73BZ8

— Utah Football (@Utah_Football) October 1, 2020

In order to win the award, each school must nominate just ONE player from its program — and they must meet the following criteria...
* 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
* Have demonstrated strong leadership and citizenship

Lisk clearly meets all of those requirements, being named to the Pac-12 All-Academic honor roll this past season. In high school, Lisk was a 2016 National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame (Utah Chapter) Scholar-Athlete award winner and a member of National Honor Society.

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Twitter — @UtahUtes_SI and Ryan Kostecka at @Ryan_Kostecka