IRVING, TX – Johns Hopkins senior defensive lineman Luke Schuermann is among 201 college football players nationwide who have been announced as semifinalists for the 2023 William V. Campbell Trophy; the prestigious Campbell Trophy is college football's premier scholar-athlete award and is presented by the National Football Foundation (NFF).

Celebrating its 34th year, 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.  Schuermann is one of 48 nominees in Division III and is the only nominee from the Centennial Conference.

Schuermann is already one of the most decorated players in Johns Hopkins football history.  Among his noteworthy accomplishments:

• First Team D3football.com All-American (2021, 2022)
• First Team Associated Press All-American (2021)
• Second Team Associated Press All-American (2022)
• Centennial Conference Defensive Player of the Year (2021, 2022)
• First Team All-Centennial Conference (2021, 2022)
• First Team D3football.com All-Region (2021, 2022)
• D3football.com Region 2 Defensive Player of the Year (2021)

In just two seasons plus four games in 2023, Schuermann counts 136 tackles, 53.5 tackles for loss and 29 sacks to his credit.  He set Johns Hopkins single-season records for TLFs (26.5) and sacks (14.0) last season, is one of just three players in school history with more than 50 career TFLs and needs one sack to become the first player in school history with 30 career sacks.  Schuermann's career statistics are even more remarkable when considering his freshman season (2020) was canceled due to the COVID pandemic.

Academically, Schuermann is majoring in mechanical engineering and carries a 3.61 cumulative grade point average.  He was a First Team CoSIDA/College Sports Communicator's (CSC) Academic All-American in 2021 and a second team selection in 2022.  Schuermann has also twice been named to the Centennial Conference Academic Honor Roll and twice earned Academic All-District honors.

A co-captain this season, Schuermann is the team leader for Johns Hopkins football's Team Impact initiative, participated in the Leadership Coaching Program at Johns Hopkins through the Office of Student Development (Spring 2022) and completed an internship in Research & Development with Rawlings Sporting Goods (Summer 2023).  One of the projects he worked on at Rawlings was exploring the effectiveness of vinyl nitrile foams and 3D-printed lattice configurations to determine the optimal placement of a lattice or foam to reduce the severity of a baseball impact on a batting helmet.

The NFF will announce 12-14 Campbell Trophy finalists on Oct. 25, and each finalist will receive an $18,000 postgraduate scholarship as a member of the 2023 NFF National Scholar-Athlete Class Presented by Fidelity Investments. The finalists will travel to the ARIA Resort & Casino in Las Vegas for the 65th NFF Annual Awards Dinner Presented by Las Vegas on Dec. 5, where their accomplishments will be highlighted in front of one of the most powerful audiences in all of sports.

Live during the event, one member of the class will be declared as the winner of the 34th Campbell Trophy® and have his postgraduate scholarship increased to $25,000. 

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.

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