UCLA center Scott Quessenberry and linebacker Kenny Young were selected on Thursday as two of the thirty NCAA® Football Bowl Subdivision student-athletes who will be candidates for the 2017 Senior CLASS Award®. To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I FBS senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence: community, classroom, character and competition. The complete list of candidates follows this release.
An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School®, the Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student-athlete and encourages students to use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact as leaders in their communities.
Of the 30 candidates, 20 have grade-point averages of 3.0 or higher with eleven of those holding above a 3.5. Six are returning All-Americans, and 29 were all-conference selections in 2016. Outside of academics and athletics, all candidates have been consistently involved in community service on their campus or in their communities.
To determine the final Senior CLASS Award winner, the 30 candidates will be narrowed to 10 finalists midway through the regular season, and those names will be placed on the official ballot. Ballots will be distributed through a nationwide voting system to media, coaches and fans, who will select one candidate who best exemplifies excellence in the four Cs of community, classroom, character and competition. Along with the winner, the 10 finalists will be awarded Senior CLASS Award first- or second-team honors.
The Senior CLASS Award winner will be announced during the football bowl season in early January. For more information on the candidates, visit seniorCLASSaward.com.
Senior CLASS Award Football Candidates
| Matt Anderson, California | Allen Lazard, Iowa State |
| J.T. Barrett, Ohio State | Joe Ostman, Central Michigan |
| Drew Brown, Nebraska | Billy Price, Ohio State |
| Daniel Carlson, Auburn | Scott Quessenberry, UCLA |
| Austin Corbett, Nevada | Frank Ragnow, Arkansas |
| Marcus Davenport, UTSA | Jeremy Reaves, South Alabama |
| Joseph Davidson, Bowling Green State | Canon Rooker, Middle Tennessee |
| Emmanuel Ellerbee, Rice | JK Scott, Alabama |
| Rashard Fant, Indiana | Blaise Taylor, Arkansas State |
| Zaire Franklin, Syracuse | Cody Thompson, Toledo |
| Shaquem Griffin, UCF | Johnny Townsend, Florida |
| Mason Hampton, Boise State | Drue Tranquill, Notre Dame |
| Josey Jewell, Iowa | Mike White, Western Kentucky |
| Micah Kiser, Virginia | Logan Woodside, Toledo |
| Justin Lawler, SMU | Kenny Young, UCLA |