March 12, 2007
BALTIMORE, MD - Johns Hopkins senior football player Brian Nickel (Waupun, WI/Waupun) has been awarded a prestigious NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship it was recently announced. Nickel is one of just 58 student-athletes nationwide (29 male / 29 female) who compete in fall sports that was selected and he is just the seventh Johns Hopkins football player, and the first since 1998, to earn the honor. Each of the 58 recipients will receive a $7,500 award in their pursuit of postgraduate studies.
The honor is the latest in a long line of accolades for Nickel, who finished his career in 2006. He was a three-time CoSIDA Academic All-District selection as he twice earned first team honors after taking second team honors as a sophomore. He also earned Second Team All-Centennial Conference honors as a senior and was named to the 2006 American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) Good Works Team for his efforts off the field and in the classroom.
Nickel is currently completing a medical tutorial in clinical sports medicine under the direction of Dr. Edward McFarland, who is a nationally-recognized expert in the diagnosis and treatment of shoulder joint conditions. He is the vice chairman of the Department of Orthopedic Surgery and director of adult orthopedics in the Division of Sports Medicine and Shoulder Surgery at Johns Hopkins. The program provides Nickel the opportunity to interact with patients in clinical settings (post operation follow ups/progress evaluations and pre-operation consultations and assessments) while observing Dr. McFarland perform a variety of orthopedic operations.
Nickel was one of just 35 individuals selected nationwide last summer to receive a prestigious Howard Hughes Research Fellowship. He has volunteered at a church in downtown Baltimore working with inner-city children and has hosted a weekly Bible Study since arriving at Johns Hopkins in 2003. He boasts a 3.61 cumulative grade point average and is majoring in natural science (pre. med.).
A standout defensive end for the Blue Jays, Nickel tied for second on the team and led all Johns Hopkins defensive linemen with 54 tackles in 2006. He added 4.5 tackles for losses, 3.0 sacks, two pass breakups and one forced fumble as a senior, when the Blue Jays finished with a 5-5 record. He closed his career with 140 tackles to his credit and helped Hopkins to a four-year record of 32-11 with three Centennial Conference Championships (2003, 2004, 2005), two ECAC titles (2003, 2005) and the program's first-ever NCAA Playoff berth (2005).
Nickel was one of just six Division III football players and the only Centennial Conference athlete (in any sport ... male or female) to earn an NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship.
All-Time Johns Hopkins Football NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship Recipients
2006-Brian Nickel
1998-John Saxe
1998-Larry Gulotta
1995-Michael House
1993-Stu Markley
1974-Gunter Glockner
1973-Joseph Ouslander
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