Rivera Named As Semifinalist For National Award
Oct. 1, 2008
LAWRENCE, Kan. – Kansas football senior Mike Rivera was named as one of 57 Football Bowl Subdivision semifinalists for the 2008 Draddy Trophy it was announced by the National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame on Wednesday.
The trophy is awarded based on academic success, football performance and exemplary community leadership.
Rivera, a senior from Shawnee Mission, Kan., was an Academic All-Big 12 First Team selection in 2007 and a second-team choice in 2006. A team captain for 2008, Rivera is also a leader among the team in community service projects. He has been awarded the team’s Community Service Award in each of the honor’s first two years of existence.
On the field, Rivera has been a standout in the Jayhawk program. He earned All-Big 12 honorable mention honors as both a sophomore and junior. He led the team in tackles in 2006 with 90 stops, while recording 96 last year.
Through four games this season Rivera has recorded 15 tackles, while also breaking up three passes. He has started 28 games in his career. Rivera is a candidate for the Chuck Bednarik Award for the nation’s top defensive player. He is also an American Football Coaches Association Good Works Team nominee.
The FFF Awards Committee will announce up to 15 finalists on Oct. 29. The award began in 1990.
2008 Draddy Trophy Semifinalists
School – Nominee
Air Force – Travis Dekker
Arizona State – Anthony Reyes
Arkansas – Jeremy Davis
Army – Lowell Garthwaite
BYU – Kellen Fowler
California – Alex Mack
Central Michigan – Brian Brunner
Colorado State – Jeff Horinek
Connecticut – Tyler Lorenzen
Florida – James Smith
Fresno State – Tom Brandstater
Georgia – Brian Mimbs
Georgia Tech – Darryl Richard
Houston – Thomas Ebner
Illinois – Ryan McDonald
Indiana – Austin Starr
Iowa – Matt Kroul
Kansas – Mike Rivera
Kentucky – Tim Masthay
Louisiana Tech – Quin Harris
Louisiana-Lafayette – Michael Desormeaux
Maryland – Daniel Gronkowski
Memphis – Brandon Pearce
Miami (Fla.) – Michael Byrne
Mississippi State – Anthony Strauder
Missouri – Chase Daniel
Nebraska – Todd Peterson
Nevada – Andy McIntosh
New Mexico – Zach Arnett
Northern Illinois – Jon Brost
Northwestern – Eric Peterman
Ohio State – Brian Robiskie
Ohio University – Michael Brown
Oklahoma State – Seb Clements
Oregon – Nick Reed
Oregon State – Andrew Levitre
Penn State – Gerald Cadogan
Pittsburgh – Conor Lee
Purdue – Ryan Baker
Rice – David Berken
Rutgers – Jason McCourty
South Carolina – Ryan Succop
Southern California – Jeff Byers
Syracuse – Ryan Durand
Texas – Chris Ogbonnaya
Texas A&M – Stephen McGee
TCU – Shae Reagan
Texas Tech – Graham Harrell
Troy – Will Chambliss
Tulsa – David Johnson
UCF – Sha’reff Rashad
UCLA – Logan Paulsen
Utah – Louie Sakoda
Washington State – Vaughn Lesuma
West Virginia – Reed Williams
Western Michigan – Dustin Duclo
Wisconsin – Chris Pressley
