Owen Grover, Liam Thompson and Luke Schuermann will each receive $18,000 postgraduate scholarships. Photos by Caleb Williams, d3photography.com; Tom Runge, Wabash athletics; Mike Atherton, d3photography.com

Three Division III student-athletes are among the 16 national finalists for the prestigious William V. Campbell Trophy it was announced today by the National Football Foundation (NFF) and College Hall of Fame.  The 16 finalists will each receive an $18,000 postgraduate scholarship as a member of the 2023 NFF National Scholar-Athlete Class Presented by Fidelity Investments®.

Only one Division III student-athlete has ever won the honor now known as the Campbell Trophy, which is awarded to college football's top student-athlete in terms of football, academics and leadership.

Luke Schuermann becomes the third finalist in Johns Hopkins history as he joins John Arena and JR Woods on the distinguished list of Blue Jays to be honored.  Among the 16 finalists, one member of the class will be declared as the winner of the 34th Campbell Trophy® and have his postgraduate scholarship increased to $25,000.

Schuermann is one of just three honorees in this year’s class from an NCAA Division III program and Johns Hopkins is one of just three schools to have produced a member of the NFF’s Scholar-Athlete Class in each of the last two years (Holy Cross, Kansas State).

The finalists will travel to the ARIA Resort & Casino in Las Vegas for the 65th Annual NFF Awards Dinner Presented by Las Vegas on Dec. 5, where their accomplishments will be highlighted in front of one of the most powerful audiences in all of sports.  There, the 2023 Campbell Trophy winner will be announced.

Thompson, a rhetoric major and film and digital media and Spanish double-minor with a 3.87 cumulative grade point average at Wabash, earned College Sports Communicators Academic All-America honors in 2022 and is a two-time North Coast Athletic Conference Offensive Player of the Year Award recipient. He was named to the Manning Award “watch list” and the 2024 East-West Shrine Bowl preliminary roster. Thompson also served three seasons as a counselor at the Manning Passing Academy.

“This is never something I would have expected,” Thompson said. “Awards and records have never been a goal of mine. This award speaks to the quality of all my teammates and all the good people at Wabash who have pushed me and allowed me to grow here. I’m grateful for that experience and for being named a Campbell Trophy finalist.”

“Liam is a top-flight scholar-athlete and generational quarterback,” Wabash College president Scott Feller said. “He has been a leader in the Center for Innovation, Business, and Entrepreneurship, guiding teams of students who work with local businesses and non-profits on market research and business plan development.

A pre-med student majoring in biology, Grover's 3.99 GPA landed him CSC First Team Academic All-America honors in 2022. A three-time CSC Academic All-District selection and a three-time member of the Academic All-Conference Team, Grover is also a member of the Dean's List.

“We are extremely proud to announce the finalists for this year’s Campbell Trophy,” said NFF Chairman Archie Manning, whose sons Peyton (Campbell Trophy recipient) and Eli were NFF National Scholar-Athletes in 1997 and 2003, respectively. “These young men have an unrelenting commitment to excellence in all aspects of their lives, and they represent all that is right in college football. As strong leaders in the vein of the trophy’s namesake Bill Campbell, they all serve as living examples that the ‘Future For Football’ is bright. We are excited to honor their hard work and outstanding leadership with postgraduate scholarships.”

Schuermann is in his third season as a starter at defensive end for the nationally ranked Blue Jays (7-0).  Since his freshman year (2020) was canceled due to the COVID pandemic, he has helped Johns Hopkins to a 27-3 record, one Centennial Conference title (2021), one trip to the NCAA playoffs (2021) and a victory in the 2022 Centennial-MAC Bowl Series.

The last time a Division III football player received this award was in 2003, when Brandon Roberts of Washington U. was awarded what was then known as the Draddy Trophy.