IRVING, Texas -- Washington & Jefferson senior offensive lineman Andrew Reo (Canton, Ohio/Canton McKinley) was recognized as one of the best and brightest student-athletes in college football with his naming as a semifinalist for the 2018 William V. Campbell Trophy®, presented by the National Football Foundation & College Football Hall of Fame (NFF).

Reo is one of 179 semifinalists from all levels of college football to be selected for this honor. He is joined by 40 other NCAA Division III nominees, while standing tall as the only representative from the Presidents' Athletic Conference.

A two-time All-PAC selection, Reo was a 2018 First Team Preseason All-America by Street & Smith's magazine, as well as a D3football.com Second Team Preseason All-America. Last season, he earned Second Team All-South Region laurels, while being chosen as a First Team All-ECAC and All-PAC honoree.

This season, Reo has anchored one of Division III's best offensive lines, which went the first three weeks of the season without allowing a sack and ranks among the national leaders in tackles for losses allowed. The senior right guard has not allowed a sack this season, and is routinely seen moving defensive linemen several yards downfield and/or onto the ground. Reo has appeared in 33 games in his career, making 23 starts on the offensive line, where he has been a starter since his sophomore campaign. His play has helped W&J to the eighth-ranked total offense in the country, averaging 552.3 yards per game, while also accruing the fourth-most first downs in the nation with 97.

The Canton, Ohio native has also received praise for his performance in the classroom, where he boasts a 3.628 GPA as a double major in Computing & Information Studies and Accounting. He was a 2017 Google Cloud First Team Academic All-District choice by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA), as well as earning a spot on the ECAC's Academic Honor Roll. Twice, Reo has been named to the PAC Academic Honor Roll, and he has earned a nod to the College's Dean's List in five of his six semesters on campus.

Reo is also active on campus and in the community, serving as a Resident Assistant for the Residence Life office and is the Philanthropy Co-Chair for Phi Delta Theta fraternity. A member of the Washington Fellows, he has received praise in the National Society of Leadership & Success and was the 2017-18 W&J Student-Athlete Advisory Committee Vice President, as well as being a part of W&J's bone marrow drive as part of the "Be the Match" campaign.

The NFF will announce 12-14 finalists on Oct. 31, and each of them will receive an $18,000 postgraduate scholarship as a member of the 60th NFF National Scholar-Athlete Class. The finalists will travel to New York City for the 61st NFF Annual Awards Dinner on Dec. 4, where their accomplishments will be highlighted in front of one of the most powerful audiences in all of sports. Live during the event, one member of the class will be declared as the winner of the 29th William V. Campbell Trophy® and have his postgraduate scholarship increased to $25,000.
 
Nominated by their schools, which are limited to one nominee each, candidates for the awards must be a senior or graduate student in their final year of playing eligibility, have a GPA of at least 3.2 on a 4.0 scale, have outstanding football ability as a first team player or significant contributor and have demonstrated strong leadership and citizenship. The class is selected each year by the NFF Awards Committee, which is comprised of a nationally recognized group of media, College Football Hall of Famers and athletics administrators.
 
"These 179 impressive candidates truly represent the scholar-athlete ideal," said NFF Chairman Archie Manning, whose sons Peyton (Campbell Trophy® winner) and Eli were named NFF National Scholar-Athletes in 1997 and 2003, respectively. "For 60 years, the NFF National Scholar-Athlete program has showcased more than 800 college football players who have been successful on the football field, in the classroom and in the community. This year's semifinalists further illustrate the power of our great sport in developing the next generation of influential leaders."
 
Named in honor of the late Bill Campbell, former chairman of Intuit, former player and head coach at Columbia University and the 2004 recipient of the NFF's Gold Medal, the Campbell Trophy® is a 25-pound bronze trophy and increases the amount of the recipient's grant by $7,000 for a total postgraduate scholarship of $25,000. This year's postgraduate scholarships will push the program's all-time distribution to more than $11.5 million.
 
"The NFF would like to personally congratulate each of the nominees as well as their schools and coaches on their tremendous accomplishments," said NFF President & CEO Steve Hatchell. "We are extremely proud to highlight each semifinalist's achievements, showcasing their ability to balance academics and athletics at the highest level. The NFF Awards Committee will have an incredibly difficult task in selecting the finalists from this outstanding group of candidates."