FORT WALTON BEACH, Fla. (July 13, 2016) – Senior Michael Montero has been named to the 2016 Wuerffel Trophy Watch List, announced on Wednesday. Montero is one of 88 student-athletes considered for the award honoring college football's top community servant.
 
Montero is extremely active in the community, representing the FIU football program. The 6-foot-2 center has helped raise funds for cancer research as part of the student-athlete team at the annual Relay for Life event, organized a field day event with kids from the Miami Police Athletic League for the annual Academy of Leaders Day of Service event, visited and provided cheer for sick children at Lou Holtz Children's Hospital and has helped put together, through FCA, a free football camp for local, disadvantaged kids. He graduated from the premier structured leadership development program for FIU last spring and was selected to serve as one of his team's representative for the Student Athlete Leadership Council.
 
Montero enters his senior season having appeared in 30 games during his FIU career, starting in 13. Last season, the Miami native appeared and started in all 12 games at center for the Panthers, earning Second-Team All-Conference USA honors. He was named game captain three times (at Indiana - 9/12; UTEP - 10/10; Charlotte - 11/7) and was part of an offensive line that helped gained 4,173 yards (fifth-most in school history), including 2,854 through the air (second-most in school history). He helped FIU record a school-record 22 TD passes and 15 rushing TDs (sixth-most in school history). He was named Preaseason Second-Team All-C-USA by Phil Steele.
 
The Wuerffel Trophy, known as "College Football's Premier Award for Community Service," is presented annually by the All Sports Association in Fort Walton Beach Florida.  Named after 1996 Heisman Trophy winning quarterback Danny Wuerffel from the University of Florida, the Wuerffel Trophy is awarded to the FBS player that best combines exemplary community service with athletic and academic achievement.
 
The Atlantic Coast Conference led all conferences with 15 players appearing on the 2016 watch list. Following the ACC are the SEC with 12 players, Conference USA with 10 and the Big 10 and Big 12 with 9 players each. The American Athletic followed with 8 players while the Sun Belt added 7, the PAC 12 submitted 6 and the MAC and Mountain West followed with 4 each. All FBS Conferences are represented on the list, as were Independent representatives BYU and United States Military Academy (Army) with 1 nominee each.

Voting for the Wuerffel Trophy is performed by a National Selection Committee that includes college football television and print media, industry notables, former head coaches and prior Wuerffel Trophy recipients.   

2016 WUERFFEL TROPHY PRESEASON WATCH LIST (88 TOTAL, LISTED ALPAHBETICALLY BY UNIVERSITY)
JK Scott, Alabama, Junior, P
O.J. Howard, Alabama, Senior, TE
Darian Small, Appalachian State, Senior, DL
Vilami "Laiu" Moeakiola, Arizona State, Senior, LB
Brooks Ellis, Arkansas, Senior, LB
Blaise Taylor, Arkansas State, Junior, DB
Andrew King, Army, Senior, LB
Daniel Carlson, Auburn, Junior, PK
Seth Russell, Baylor, Senior, QB
Mitchell Juergens, BYU, Senior, WR
Jonny Linehan, BYU, Senior, P
Jack Austin, California, Junior, WR
Jamal Covington, Charlotte, Senior, OL
Deshaun Watson, Clemson, Junior, QB
Sefo Liufau, Colorado, Senior, QB
Zack Golditch, Colorado State, Junior, OL
DeVon Edwards, Duke, Senior, DB
Zay Jones, East Carolina, Senior, WR
Jarrad Davis, Florida, Senior, LB
Shalom Ogbonda, Florida Atlantic, Senior, DL
Michael Montero, FIU, Senior, OL
Alec Eberle, Florida State, Sophomore, OL
Jeb Blazevich, Georgia, Junior, TE
Keith Rucker, Georgia State, Senior, TE
KeShun Freeman, Georgia Tech, Junior, DE
Greg Ward, Jr., Houston, Senior, QB
Joe Spencer, Illinois, Senior, OL
Mitchell Paige, Indiana, Senior, WR
LeShun Daniels, Jr., Iowa, Senior, RB
Cole Netten, Iowa State, Senior, PK
Fish Smithson, Kansas, Senior, DB
Dante Barnett, Kansas State, Senior, DB
Antwan Dixon, Kent State, Sophomore, WR
Nick Cuthbert, Kent State, Senior, LB
Karmichael Dunbar, Louisiana, Senior, DL
Brandon Radcliff, Louisville, Senior, RB
Colin Jeter, LSU, Senior, TE
William Likely, Maryland, Senior, DB
Ryan Yurachek, Marshall, Sophomore, TE
Jake Elliott, Memphis, Senior, PK
Brad Kaaya, Miami, Junior, QB
Josiah Price, Michigan State, Senior, TE
Brent Stockstill, Middle Tennessee, Sophomore, QB
Damarius Travis, Minnesota, Senior, DB
Evan Ingram, Mississippi, Senior, TE
Brandon Holloway, Mississippi State, Senior, WR/RB
Drew Brown, Nebraska, Junior, PK
Jeremy Maculey, Nevada, Senior, OL
Nick Weller, North Carolina, Senior, PK
Tony Adams, North Carolina State, Junior, OL
Drew Hare, Northern Illinois, Senior, QB
Matthew Harris, Northwestern, Senior DB
Jarrod Barnes, Ohio State, Senior, DB
Samaje Perine, Oklahoma, Junior, RB
Mason Rudolph, Oklahoma State, Junior, QB
Tyler Compton, Old Dominion, Senior, OL
Ryan Nall, Oregon State, Sophomore, RB
Adam Biniswaty, Pittsburgh, Senior, OL
James Conner, Pittsburgh, Junior, RB
Mike Caprara, Pittsburgh, Senior, LB
Darik Dillard, Rice, Senior, RB
Daniel Brunskill, San Diego State, Senior, TE
Tim Crawley, San Jose State, Senior, WR
Nick Mullins, Southern Mississippi, Senior, QB
Jason Emerich, Syracuse, Senior, OL
Aaron Curry, TCU, Senior, DL
Brendan McGowan, Temple, Senior, OL
Joshua Dobbs, Tennessee, Senior, QB
Trevor Knight, Texas A&M, Senior, QB
Felix Romero, Texas State, Junior, OL
Patrick Mahomes, II, Texas Tech, Junior, QB
Brad Spelman, Toledo, Junior, LS
John Johnson, Troy, Junior, WR
Marshall Wadleigh, Tulane, Senior, TE
Dane Evans, Tulsa, Senior, QB
Justin Holman, UCF, Senior, QB
Bobby Puyol, UConn, Senior, PK
John Plattenburg, USC, Junior, DB
Travis Seefeldt, Utah State, Senior, DL
Oren Burks, Vanderbilt, Junior, LB
Matt Johns, Virginia, Senior, QB
Sam Rogers, Virginia Tech, Senior, RB
Ryan Janvion, Wake Forest, Senior, DB
Jeff Lindquist, Washington, Senior, TE
Skyler Howard, West Virginia, Senior, QB
Forrest Lamp, Western Kentucky, Senior, OL
Marcus Ward, Western Kentucky, Senior, DB
Zach Terrell, Western Michigan, Senior, QB



Nominations for the Wuerffel Trophy are made by the respective universities' Sports Information departments and will close on October 14.  A current list of nominees can be found at www.wuerffeltrophy.org beginning August 1.  Semifinalists for the award will be announced on Nov. 3 and finalists will be announced on November 23.  

The formal announcement of the 2016 recipient will be on December 6 at the National Football Foundation's press conference in New York City.

The presentation of the 2016 Wuerffel Trophy will occur at the 48th Annual All Sports Association Awards Banquet on February 10, 2017 in Fort Walton Beach, Florida.

Past winners of the Wuerffel Trophy are:  Rudy Niswanger (LSU-2005), Joel Penton (Ohio State-2006), Paul Smith (Tulsa-2007), Tim Tebow (Florida-2008), Tim Hiller (W. Michigan-2009), Sam Acho (Texas-2010), Barrett Jones (Alabama-2011), Matt Barkley (USC-2012), Gabe Ikard (Oklahoma-2013), Deterrian Shackelford (Ole Miss-2014) and Ty Darlington (Oklahoma-2015).

The Wuerffel Trophy is a member of the National College Football Awards Association (NCFAA) which encompasses the most prestigious awards in college football. The 23 awards boast more than 700 years of tradition-selection excellence. Visit www.NCFAA.org to learn more about our story.

The members of the NCFAA are unveiling their preseason watch lists over a 9-day period this month. Seventeen of the association's 23 awards select a preseason watch list and the NCFAA has spearheaded a coordinated effort to promote each award's preseason candidates. Following is the complete 2016 preseason watch list calendar:

Tues., July 5: Bednarik Award/Maxwell Award
Wed., July 6: Mackey Award/Rimington Trophy
Thurs., July 7: Lou Groza Award/Ray Guy Award
Fri., July 8: Bronko Nagurski Trophy/Outland Trophy
Mon., July 11: Jim Thorpe Award
Tues., July 12: Butkus Award/Rotary Lombardi Award
Wed., July 13: Biletnikoff Award/Wuerffel Trophy
Thurs, July 14: Davey O'Brien Award/Doak Walker Award
Fri., July 15: Walter Camp Award/Hornung Award
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The 2016 FIU football season will kick off on Thursday, Sept. 1, when the Panthers host the Indiana Hoosiers.


FIU's 2016 schedule is highlighted with games against Miami Beach Bowl and 2015 C-USA champion WKU, R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl champion Louisiana Tech, St. Petersburg Bowl champion Marshall, Popeyes Bahama Bowl participant Middle Tennessee, and New Era Pinstripe Bowl participant Indiana. In addition, the Panthers will face Maryland, Massachusetts, UCF, Florida Atlantic, UTEP, Charlotte and Old Dominion. 
 
For FIU football ticket information, contact the University Credit Union Box Office at 305-FIU-GAME (348-4263).
 
For the latest information on Panthers football, follow us on Twitter, @FIUFootball, and check out Pete Pelegrin's in-depth coverage of FIU Athletics on his official blog, The Prowl, at www.FIUSports.com.



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About FIU Athletics: FIU Athletics is home to more than 400 student-athletes in 18 different sports. Athletic events are played in seven different venues on FIU's campuses (Modesto A. Maidique and Biscayne Bay), including FIU Arena and Ocean Bank Field at FIU Stadium.
 
About FIU: Florida International University is recognized as a Carnegie engaged university. It is a public research university with colleges and schools that offer more than 180 bachelor's, master's and doctoral programs in fields such as engineering, international relations, architecture, law and medicine. As one of South Florida's anchor institutions, FIU contributes $8.9 billion each year to the local economy. FIU is Worlds Ahead in finding solutions to the most challenging problems of our time. FIU emphasizes research as a major component of its mission. FIU has awarded over 200,000 degrees and enrolls more than 54,000 students in two campuses and three centers including FIU Downtown on Brickell, FIU@I-75, and the Miami Beach Urban Studios. FIU also supports artistic and cultural engagement through its three museums: the Patricia & Phillip Frost Art Museum, the Wolfsonian-FIU, and the Jewish Museum of Florida-FIU. FIU is a member of Conference USA and has over 400 student-athletes participating in 18 sports. For more information about FIU, visit http://www.fiu.edu/.