DALLAS – Old Dominion linebacker Koa Naotala was named a semifinalist for the Jason Witten Collegiate Man of the Year Award.
Compiled by a subset of the Jason Witten Collegiate Man of the Year Selection Committee, the semifinalists have all demonstrated a record of leadership by exhibiting exceptional courage, integrity and sportsmanship both on and off the field.
A two-time team captain, Naotala began his career as a walk-on before earning a scholarship. He was a special teams star for ODU in 2023 before leading the Monarchs in tackles with 88 in 2024, earning second-team All-Sun Belt honors.
The full list of semifinalists includes: CJ Allen (Georgia), Nick Andersen (Wake Forest), Cam Ball (Arkansas), Jude Bowry (Boston College), Deion Burks (Oklahoma), Arion Carter (Tennessee), Dontay Corleone (Cincinnati), Jalon Daniels (Kansas), Nick Dawkins (Penn State), Aiden Fisher (Indiana), Ernest Hausmann (Michigan), Tyler Martinez (New Mexico State), Devin Mockobee (Purdue), Koa Naotala (Old Dominion), Sawyer Robertson (Baylor), Jacob Rodriguez (Texas Tech), Eli Stowers (Vanderbilt), Michael Taaffe (Texas), Aamil Wagner (Notre Dame) and Tanner Wall (BYU).