Bucknell Football's Brent Jackson Named Campbell Trophy Semifinalist

IRVING, Texas – Bucknell football's Brent Jackson was named a semifinalist for the 2022 William V. Campbell Trophy®, the National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame (NFF) announced Wednesday.

Jackson was among 156 semifinalists for the prestigious award, which is in its 33rd year. 37 FCS players were named, and Jackson is one of four hailing from the Patriot League. He's joined by Ryan Greenhagen (Gr./LB /Fordham), Mac Hollensteiner (Gr./OL/Georgetown) and Peter Oliver (Sr./RB/Holy Cross).

The Campbell Trophy® recognizes an individual as the absolute best football scholar-athlete in the nation for his combined academic success, football performance and exemplary leadership.

Jackson, a safety from Denton, Texas, has started 14 consecutive games for the Bison and has led the team in tackles over that span. The senior captain currently ranks 10th in the FCS with 10.7 tackles per game and is first with 7.3 solo stops per game. He's registered a career-high 12 tackles twice this year against Towson and Central Michigan and has posted three pass breakups.

Jackson was one of just two Bison to start all 11 games in 2021, recording 77 tackles (44 solo) and adding 1.5 tackles for a loss and 0.5 sacks. He received Bucknell's Clarke Hinkle Award as the team's most outstanding defensive back or linebacker.

A finance major, Jackson possesses a 3.76 GPA and has been a Dean's list student throughout his time at Bucknell. He was voted to the 2021 Academic All-Patriot League Team and was named an Arthur Ashe Jr. Sports Scholar in 2022.

Away from the football field, Jackson has served as a teaching assistant, a member of the Bison Business Alliance, a member of Bison Athletes of Color affinity group and a treasury payment and solutions intern at BMO Harris Bank in Chicago this past summer. He's also been selected for the Igniting Leaders group within the Bucknell Athletics Leadership Institute.

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.

Only Bucknell and Dayton have had a Campbell Trophy semifinalist each of the past 17 years. Previous Bison honorees include David Frisbey (2006), Nick Mozal (2007), Kevin Mullen (2008), Sam Nana-Sinkam (2009), Travis Nissley (2010), Tim Bolte (2011), Samuel Oyekoya (2012), Tracey Smith (2013), Derek Maurer (2014), Matt DelMauro (2015), Cary Hess (2016), Mark Pyles (2017), Bryan Marine (2018), Alex Pechin (2019), Rick Mottram (2020) and Grayson Cherubino (2021).

The NFF will announce 12-14 finalists on Oct. 26, and each of them will receive an $18,000 postgraduate scholarship as a member of the 2022 NFF National Scholar-Athlete Class. The finalists will travel to Bellagio Resort & Casino in Las Vegas for the 64th NFF Annual Awards Dinner. Live during the event, one member of the class will be declared as the winner of the 33rd Campbell Trophy® and have his postgraduate scholarship increased to $25,000.