MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – That big strip-tackle
Sean Mahone made on TCU wide receiver Quentin Johnston that resulted in a critical fourth-quarter turnover during last Saturday's 29-17 victory at TCU didn't come by accident.
It takes somebody with a lot of brains and moxie to make a play like that – both of which
Sean Mahone possesses in abundance!
Earlier today, Mahone's tremendous work in the classroom, on the football field and in the community was recognized by the National Football Foundation when he was named one of 13 finalists for this year's William V. Campbell Trophy, presented annually to college football's most outstanding scholar-athlete.
This is considered the premier scholar-athlete award, and the 13 finalists represent the who's who in college football today and the who's who in society tomorrow.
"I was shocked and excited when I found out about this," Mahone admitted. "I am very proud that I was able to be selected for the National Football Foundation Scholar Team and having my named associated with this means a lot."
West Virginia University president E. Gordon Gee and director of athletics
Shane Lyons were at practice last week to congratulate Sean on being named to the NFF Scholar Team.
"Being a university president, it goes without saying academic excellence is something that is very important to me," Gee told Mahone and his teammates. "As much as I enjoy watching the Mountaineers succeed on the field, it's also important to take time to acknowledge when someone succeeds off the field as well. Earning a place on this team is among the most sought-after and prestigious honors in college football."
"It means a tremendous amount to our athletics department for Sean to be selected to this prestigious team," Lyons added. "This shows how important it is to be an excellent student and an exceptional athlete. We are so happy and proud of Sean, and it's tremendous to see all of his hard work being recognized."
The current list of 13 was pared down from 176 semifinalists nationwide among all NCAA divisions and NAIA. Finalists were selected based on academic success, football performance and exemplary leadership.
This group has a combined 3.77 grade point average; all 13 are team captains, eight are already college graduates, including Mahone, and eight have earned Academic All-America status, which also includes Mahone.
Schools are permitted to submit only one nominee, and Campbell Trophy candidates must be a senior or a graduate student in their final season of collegiate eligibility, have at least a 3.2 grade point average on a 4.0 scale, have outstanding football ability and demonstrate strong leadership and citizenship qualities.
Sean Mahone definitely checks all of those boxes.
"Sean is the true definition of a Mountaineer and has been disciplined in doing the things required to be successful on and off the field," West Virginia coach
Neal Brown said. "This is a true testament to the type student-athlete Sean has been during his career."
The Liberty Township, Ohio, resident graduated magna cum laude with a 3.6 grade point average in management information systems in 2020, but what sets him apart as one of the top football scholar-athletes in the nation is that he completed his MBA with a 3.7 grade point average before he even stepped on the field for his final season.
"I give credit to our academic advisors Brittney (O'Dell) and Zach (Seger)," Mahone said. "They do a great job of helping us manage our school and football schedules. They get us organized for everything and when it's football time I do football and when it's school time I get my school work done. The biggest thing is to get it done ahead of time so it's not piling up."
Sean said the importance of academics was impressed upon him at an early age by his parents, William and Kim Mahone, and reinforced when he began to excel in athletics at Lakota West High. Seeing some of the older players on his high school team overlooked by bigger college programs because of poor grades, Mahone realized that he didn't want to suffer a similar fate.
"Growing up, I would kind of get through school and just get by," Mahone admitted. "But then I began realizing later on when it was time to go to college that not everyone gets a chance to play at the Division I level. My thing was I've got to do well in school because football doesn't last forever."
Mahone was a Second Team Academic All-America choice in 2020, and his Mountaineer playing career so far includes 192 tackles, 10 tackles for loss, six pass breakups, three interceptions and two sacks over the last five seasons.
The 6-foot, 200-pound safety will be playing his 50
th collegiate game this Saturday afternoon when the Mountaineers take on 22
nd-ranked Iowa State.
In terms of community service, Mahone is one of the team's accountability leaders who has made numerous visits to WVU Children's Hospital. He has also written personalized notes and created videos of encouragement for local elementary school students, as well as senior home residents when the country shut down during the pandemic's peak last spring.
He also served a mentorship in the "Big Brothers" initiative and has taken part in clean-up efforts throughout the city.
All 13 Campbell Trophy finalists will receive an $18,000 postgraduate scholarship as a member of the 2021 National Football Foundation Scholar-Athlete Class, presented by Fidelity Investments, and will be recognized during the NFF Annual Awards Dinner in Las Vegas.
The 2021 Campbell Trophy recipient will be honored on The Home Depot College Football Awards Show on ESPN on Thursday, Dec. 9, and will take part in a luncheon at the New York Athletic Club in downtown New York on Monday, Dec. 13.
Finally, the Campbell Trophy recipient will be recognized on the field at Lucas Oil Stadium during the College Football Playoff National Championship game on Monday, Jan. 10, 2022.
The National Football Foundation has been selecting scholar-athlete teams since 1959, and has awarded the Campbell Trophy, named in honor of Columbia star player Bill Campbell, since 1990.
Mahone becomes only the seventh West Virginia University football player named to the NFF Scholar-Athlete Team, joining quarterbacks Oliver Luck (1981) and Jeff Hostetler (1983), center Eric de Groh (1998), offensive lineman Jeff Berk (2004) and linebackers Jay Henry (2004) and Reed Williams (2009).
