IRVING, TX - Johns Hopkins senior defensive end Michael Longo (Scarsdale, NY/Iona Prep) has been named a semifinalist for the National Football Foundation's 2014 William V. Campbell Trophy and Postgraduate Scholarship. Longo carries a 3.74 cumulative grade point average and is majoring in Public Health. He plans to attend medical school after graduation.

John Arena, a co-captain on the 2013 Johns Hopkins football team, earned a NFF Postgraduate Scholarship last year and is currently in his first year of medical school at the University of Pennsylvania.

A near-record 167 semifinals from all five classifications of college football (FBS, FCS, NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III, NAIA) were named after being nominated by administrators at each of their respective institutions. Candidates for the awards must be a senior or graduate student in their final year of 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.

A team-captain this season, Longo earned First Team CoSIDA/Capital One Academic All-District, First Team All-Centennial Conference and Second Team All-ECAC South honors last season. He had previously earned Honorable Mention All-Centennial honors as a sophomore. Longo is Johns Hopkins' career active leader in tackles (106), tackles for loss (24.5) and sacks (15.5) and also has four forced fumbles to his credit. He has played in all 37 games in his career and has helped the Blue Jays to a 33-4 record, three Centennial Conference titles and three trips to the NCAA Playoffs since arriving at Homewood.

"The NFF would like to personally congratulate each of the nominees as well as their schools and coaches on this tremendous honor," said NFF President & CEO Steve Hatchell. "We are extremely proud to highlight each semifinalist's achievements, which show that football players can balance between academics and athletics at the highest level. The NFF Awards Committee will have an incredibly difficult task in selecting the finalists from this outstanding group of candidates."

The NFF Awards Committee will select up to 16 recipients, and the results will be announced via a national press release on Thursday, Oct. 30. Each recipient will receive an $18,000 postgraduate scholarship, and they will vie as finalists for the 2014 William V. Campbell Trophy, presented by Fidelity Investments and hosted at the NYAC, which is celebrating its 25th anniversary in 2014.

Each member of the 2014 NFF National Scholar-Athlete Class will also travel to New York City to be honored Dec. 9 during the 57th NFF Annual Awards Dinner at the Waldorf Astoria where their accomplishments will be highlighted in front of one of the most powerful audiences in all of sports. One member of the class will also be announced live at the event as the winner of the Campbell Trophy.

Named in honor of Bill Campbell, the chairman of Intuit, former player and head coach at Columbia University and the 2004 recipient of the NFF's Gold Medal, the award comes with a 25-pound bronze trophy and increases the amount of the recipient's grant by $7,000 for a total post-graduate scholarship of $25,000. A total distribution of $300,000 in scholarships will be awarded at the NFF Annual Awards Dinner, pushing the program's all-time distributions to more than $10.7 million.

"These 167 impressive candidates truly represent the scholar-athlete ideal," said NFF Chairman Archie Manning whose sons Peyton (Campbell Trophy winner) and Eli were named NFF National Scholar-Athletes in 1997 and 2003, respectively. "It is important for us to showcase their success on the football field, in the classroom and in the community. This year's semifinalists further illustrate the power of our great sport in developing the next generation of influential leaders."

2014 NFF NATIONAL SCHOLAR-ATHLETE CANDIDATE NOTES
· 167 nominations
· 3.65 Average GPA
· 44 nominees with a 3.8 GPA or better
· 97 Team Captains
· 86 All-Conference Picks
· 27 Academic All-America Selections
· 19 All-America Selections
· 62 Nominees from the Football Bowl Subdivision
· 37 Nominees from the Football Championship Subdivision
· 25 Nominees from the Division II
· 33 Nominees from the Division III
· 10 Nominees from the NAIA
· 78 Offensive Players
· 67 Defensive Players
· 22 Special Teams Players

- Pride and Poise -