Jocz Named Semifinalist for Campbell Trophy
9/28/2016 12:00:00 AM | Football
Sept. 28, 2016
IRVING, Texas -- Graduate student tight end Michael Jocz of the University of Michigan football team was named as a semifinalist for the 2016 William V. Campbell trophy presented by Fidelity Investments, the National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame (NFF) announced on Wednesday (Sept. 28). The award recognizes an individual as the absolute best football scholar-athlete in the nation and 156 semifinalists were named in today's announcement.
Jocz is a mechanical engineer who completed his undergraduate studies last spring and is now enrolled in a two-year master's program, which he will complete well ahead of schedule in just one calendar year. A two-year letter winner already, Jocz is a versatile piece of the Wolverine roster as a reserve tight end and special teams contributor.
He's played in all four games this season and made his first career reception against UCF (Sept. 10). In week three against Colorado (Sept. 17), he blocked a punt that was returned for a touchdown by Grant Perry.
Jocz completed his undergraduate studies with a sparkling 3.96 grade-point average, with his only grade below the level of 'A' being one 'A-minus'. Last winter, he was given the Dr. Arthur D. Robinson Scholarship Award for having the team's highest GPA. He has spent time giving back to the engineering department by volunteering at 'X-Plore Engineering' and other programs designed to introduce freshmen and prospective students to all the U-M College of Engineering has to offer. Jocz has also put his mechanical engineering degree to use by joining teammate Ben Pliska in a summer internship based on conducting research towards creating safer football helmets.
The NFF will announce 12-14 finalists for the William V. Campbell Trophy on Nov. 1, and each of them will receive an $18,000 postgraduate scholarship as a member of the NFF National Scholar-Athlete Class. The winner will be recognized on Dec. 6 at the 59th NFF Annual Awards Dinner in New York City.
Michigan kicks off against Wisconsin this Saturday (Sept. 24) at 3:30 p.m. on ABC in the 65th meeting between the two programs.
• Scholar Stories: Michael Jocz
Communications Contact: Dave Ablauf and Chad Shepard
