National Football Foundation Awards Press Conference

As usual it was an outstanding morning spent at the Waldorf at the NFF press conference for award winners, incoming Hall of Famers and honored players. The number of people who were honored is long so I will stick to my impressions. Roger Goodell won the Gold Medal and while he may or may not be a worthy winner his presence dominated the Q and A session that followed as all of the questions focused on the NFL. This is a college event and I want the focus solely on the college game. There was also a military feel to the awards as General Ray Odierno and former Green Beret and current Texas long snapper Nate Boyer were both honored. As for the players it is always bittersweet to see some players who I grew up watching now aged and a little less nimble. Still it is outstanding to see that these outstanding players and coaches are universally humbled by becoming members of the Hall. As an historian my favorite moment was when former Navy and Temple coach Wayne Hardin made reference to his former coach Amos Alonzo Stagg. That he could be honored at the same time as the current players who were born 60+ years after Hardin and 130 years after Stagg shows the true reach of the NFF. What else? I joked with new Hall of Famers Percy Snow and Orlando Pace about the recent Big Ten championship game. Snow was quite proud while Pace admitted he had his bags packed for the BCS title game. I also enjoyed talking Florida football with Danny Wuerffel and the old days with Steve Meilinger, who mentioned that football in his days (50s and 60s) was more gentlemanly that today's game. The current players who finished the event did not prove Meilinger's point as they were, al usual, an outstanding collection of young men who combine football skill with academic success. Penn State lineman John Urschel, who is working on his second masters, won the Campbell Trophy that night. Head over to the NFF site for more quotes and information.