The award honors players who serve and inspire others to have a positive impact on society.
Ohio State fifth-year senior Kamryn Babb was one of 115 players named on Thursday to the preseason watch list for the Wuerffel Trophy, which presented annually to the player who best combines exemplary community service with leadership on and off the field.
A former four-star prospect from St. Louis Christian Brothers College, Babb has played in just seven games for the Buckeyes as he’s dealt with numerous knee injuries that robbed him of his freshman, redshirt freshman and redshirt junior seasons.
Even though he's yet to catch a collegiate pass, Babb has been a vital part of the locker room and was named a team captain by his peers last fall. He was even commended by head coach Ryan Day for his leadership in the face of adversity.
“Something that’s a mark of a lot of successful people is the ability to be resilient and bounce back from adversity and failure and emotional pain and he is the epitome of that,” Day said in August. “He’s been an unbelievable leader. He’s set a standard.
“The hard part for Kam is he really just hasn’t spent much time on the field, but his impact has been left already on this program. I know he wants to leave a legacy and this is an unbelievable way for him to do that. He could have walked away two or three different times and he hasn’t. He stuck with us.”
Babb, who suffered a small setback with his knee this spring but is expected to be fully healthy when camp opens next week, is looking to become just the second player in school history to win the Wuerffel Trophy, joining former defensive tackle Joel Penton in 2006.
The award is named after former Florida quarterback and 1996 Heisman Trophy winner Danny Wuerffel, who is a motivational speaker and the executive director of Desire Street Ministries, a nonprofit organization that seeks to help impoverished neighborhoods through spiritual and community development.
Semifinalists for the Wueffel Trophy will be named on Nov. 1, with finalists to be announced later that month. The winner will then be revealed during the ESPN Home Depot College Football Awards show on Dec. 8.
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