FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. - Old Dominion University junior linebacker TJ Ricks was nominated for the Brandon Burlsworth Trophy given to the most outstanding football player in America who began his career as a Walk-On.
A native of Hampton, Va., Ricks leads Conference USA and is tied for 13th in the country with 10.4 tackles per game. He leads the Monarchs with 94 tackles and has 1.5 sacks and 3.5 tackles for loss. He is second on the team with five pass breakups and tied for the team lead with two fumbles recovered and has one forced fumbles.
Ricks set an ODU single-game record earlier this season against Charlotte with 18 tackles, surpassing the record of 17 set by Craig Wilkins. Ricks is currently fifth in school history with 192 tackles.
A Walk-On is defined as a player who began his first season of participation with a D1 (FBS) football program without financial aid of any kind from his university's athletic department. The Trophy is named in honor of former University of Arkansas Walk-On and All-American offensive lineman, Brandon Burlsworth.
The 2015 Burlsworth Trophy nominees are:
Alabama | Michael Nysewander | SR | Tight End |
Arizona State | Jordan Simone | SR | Safety |
Arkansas | Mitchell Loewen | SR | Def. Lineman |
Arkansas State | Johnston White | SO | Running Back |
Auburn | Kevin Phillips | JR | Punter |
Ball State | Jacob Richard | SR | OL /Center |
Brigham Young | Mitchell Juergens | JR | Wide Receiver |
Clemson | C.J. Davidson | SR | Running Back |
Colorado State | Kevin O'Brien | SR | Center |
Eastern Michigan | Dylan Mulder | SR | Kicker |
Florida Atlantic | Sharrod Neasman | SR | Def. Back |
Florida State | Javien Elliott | SR | Def. Back |
Fresno State | Bo Bonnheim | SR | Center/Guard |
Houston | Tyler White | SR | Corner Back |
Illinois | Clayton Fejedelem | SR | Def. Back |
Indiana | Anthony Corsaro | SR | Tight End |
Iowa | Marshall Koehn | SR | Kicker |
Kent State | Nick Cuthbert | JR | Safety |
Marshall | Tyler Williams | SR | Punter |
Memphis | Alan Cross | SR | Tight End |
Miami | Michael Badgley | SO | Kicker |
Michigan | Ryan Glasgow | SR | Def. Tackle |
Minnesota | Peter Mortell | SR | Punter |
Mississippi State | Westin Graves | SO | Kicker |
Missouri | Tyler Hunt | SR | Tailback |
Nebraska | Jack Gangwish | SR | Def. End |
Nevada | Jordan Dobrich | SR | Linebacker |
New Mexico State | Teldrick Morgan | SR | Wide Receiver |
Oklahoma | Baker Mayfield | JR | Quarterback |
Old Dominion | TJ Ricks | JR | Linebacker |
Ole Miss | Carlos Davis | JR | Cornerback |
Oregon | Matt Pierson | SR | Left Guard |
Oregon State | Devin Chappell | JR | Cornerback |
Penn State | Carl Nassib | SR | Def. End |
Rice | James Farrimond | SR | P/PK |
Rutgers | Paul James | SR | Running Back |
San Diego State | Dakota Gordon | SR | Fullback |
SMU | Andrew McCleneghen | SR | Def. Lineman |
South Carolina | Perry Orth | JR | Quarterback |
Stanford | Conrad Ukropina | SR | Kicker |
Syracuse | Riley Dixon | SR | Punter |
Tennessee | Trevor Daniel | SO | Punter |
Texas Tech | John White | SR | Def. Back |
Toledo | Jack Linch | SO | Linebacker |
Tulane | Marshall Wadleigh | JR | Running Back |
Tulsa | Matt Linscott | JR | Linebacker |
UCLA | Roosevelt Davis | SR | Running Back |
UConn | Jeremy Claflin | SR | Safety |
UMass | Joe Colton | SR | DB/LB |
USC | Alex Wood | JR | Placekicker |
Utah State | Jordan Nielsen | SR | Def. End |
Wake Forest | Robert Hunter Williams | SR | OLB/Rover |
Washington State | Luke Falk | SO | Quarterback |
Western Michigan | Grant DePalma | SR | Linebacker |
Wisconsin | Joe Schobert | SR | Linebacker |
"In this 6th year of the Burlsworth Trophy, I am again impressed by the quality and commitment of the athletes who have been nominated,” said Marty Burlsworth, CEO and founder of the Burlsworth Foundation and older brother of Brandon. “These young men represent what the Burlsworth Trophy stands for: character, hard work, dedication to a sport and to their school and above all else, a desire to excel at the highest level.”