FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Old Dominion linebacker Seth Naotala has been nominated for the Brandon Burlsworth Trophy which is given to the top player in the country that began his career as a walk-on.
The Burlsworth Trophy is given to the most outstanding football player in American who began his career as a Walk-On and has shown outstanding performance on the field.
Naotala has started seven games at linebacker and is fifth in the team with 45 tackles. He has 1.5 sacks and four tackles for loss on the year.
A native of Newport News, Naotala had a career high 12 tackles at Marshall earlier this season.
Naotala is in his sixth season of college football after spending his first four seasons at JMU. He nearly retired from football in 2024 but joined ODU on the first day of school and played in the season opener at South Carolina. He became the backup at middle linebacker and recorded 26 tackles. He has already surpassed that total this season through nine games.
Seth’s brother, Koa, was ODU’s Burlsworth Trophy nominee last season.
Without one D1 scholarship offer, Brandon Burlsworth walked on at the University of Arkansas in 1994. He became a three-year starter and was eventually named an All-American in 1998. Burlsworth was selected as the 63rd overall pick by the Indianapolis Colts in the 1999 draft but was tragically killed in a car accident 11 days later. The Burlsworth Foundation was created in his memory and supports the physical and spiritual needs of children, particularly those children who have limited options.
The 2025 Burlsworth Trophy nominees are
|
School |
Class |
Player |
Position |
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App State |
RS-JR |
Rondo |
Porter |
DT |
|
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|
Arkansas |
SR |
Larry |
Worth III |
DB |
|
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|
Arkansas State |
RS-JR |
Cameron |
Ambrose |
OL/TE |
|
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|
Baylor |
RS-SR |
Josh |
Cameron |
WR |
|
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|
Boise State |
RS-Soph |
Boen |
Phelps |
LB |
|
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|
Boston College |
RS-JR |
Juan |
Zabal |
LB |
|
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|
Bowling Green |
RS-JR |
Gideon |
Lampron |
LB |
|
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|
Buffalo |
RS-JR |
Victor |
Snow |
WR |
|
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|
BYU |
RS-SR |
Tanner |
Wall |
S |
|
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|
California |
RS-SR |
Trond |
Grizzell |
WR |
|
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|
Charlotte |
RS-F |
Derrick |
Eley |
WR |
|
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|
Cincinnati |
RS-JR |
Antwan |
Peek Jr. |
S |
|
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|
Colorado |
SR |
Ben |
Finneseth |
S |
|
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|
Connecticut |
RS-Soph |
John |
Neider |
WR |
|
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|
Duke |
SR |
Caleb |
Weaver |
CB |
|
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|
East Carolina |
RS-SR |
Zion |
Wilson |
DL |
|
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|
Eastern Michigan |
SR |
Mitchell |
Tomasek |
P |
|
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|
Florida |
RS-SR |
Taylor |
Spierto |
WR |
|
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|
Fresno State |
RS-SR |
Camryn |
Bracha |
DB |
|
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|
Georgia |
RS-SR |
Cash |
Jones |
RB |
|
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|
Georgia Southern |
JR |
David |
Mbadinga |
RB |
|
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|
Georgia Tech |
RS-SR |
Jason |
Moore |
DL |
|
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|
Hawaii |
SR |
Kansei |
Matsuzawa |
PK |
|
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|
Houston |
SR |
Jacob |
Garza |
LS |
|
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|
Illinois |
SR |
Miles |
Scott |
DB |
|
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|
Indiana |
RS-SR |
Riley |
Nowkowski |
TE |
|
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|
Iowa |
SR |
Kaden |
Wetjen |
WR/RS |
|
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|
Iowa State |
RS-Soph |
Kyle |
Konrardy |
K |
|
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|
Jacksonville State |
SR |
Brock |
Rechsteiner |
WR |
|
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|
James Madison |
SR |
Jacob |
Thomas |
S |
|
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|
Kansas |
RS-SR |
Laith |
Marjan |
K |
|
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|
Kent State |
JR |
Da'Realyst |
Clark |
WR/KR |
|
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|
Kentucky |
JR |
Hayden |
Dawahare |
OLB |
|
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|
Michigan |
RS-SR |
Max |
Bredeson |
FB |
|
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|
Michigan State |
RS-JR |
Ryan |
Eckley |
P |
|
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|
Middle Tennessee State |
RS-SR |
Parker |
Hughes |
LB |
|
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|
Minnesota |
RS-SR |
Derik |
LeCaptain |
LB |
|
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|
Nebraska |
JR |
Luke |
Lindenmeyer |
TE |
|
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|
New Mexico |
SR |
Luke |
Drzewiecki |
K |
|
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|
North Texas |
RS-F |
Drew |
Mestemaker |
QB |
|
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|
Northwestern |
RS-SR |
Carmine |
Bastone |
DT |
|
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|
Notre Dame |
JR |
Jordan |
Faison |
WR |
|
|||
|
Ohio State |
RS-SR |
Joey |
Velazquez |
LB |
|
|||
|
Oklahoma |
RS-SR |
Febechi |
Nwaiwu |
OL |
|
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|
Oklahoma State |
RS-SR |
Parker |
Robertson |
S |
|
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|
Old Dominion |
RS-SR |
Seth |
Naotala |
LB |
|
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|
Oregon |
SR |
Bryce |
Boettcher |
ILB |
|
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|
Oregon State |
RS-SR |
Trent |
Walker |
WR |
|
|||
|
Penn State |
RS-SR |
Dominic |
DeLuca |
LB |
|
|||
|
Purdue |
RS-SR |
Devin |
Mockobee |
RB |
|
|||
|
Rice |
RS-SR |
Andrew |
Awe |
LB |
|
|||
|
Rutgers |
SR |
Jordan |
Walker |
DL |
|
|||
|
San Diego State |
SR |
Gabriel |
Plascencia |
K |
|
|||
|
South Alabama |
SR |
Christopher |
Wallace Jr. |
S |
|
|||
|
South Carolina |
JR |
Maurice |
Brown II |
TE |
|
|||
|
TCU |
RS-SR |
Chase |
Curtis |
TE |
|
|||
|
Tennessee |
RS-Soph |
DeSean |
Bishop |
RB |
|
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|
Texas |
RS-SR |
Michael |
Taaffe |
DB |
|
|||
|
Texas A & M |
RS-SR |
Nate |
Boerkircher |
TE |
|
|||
|
Texas State |
RS-SR |
Titus |
Lyons |
TE |
|
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|
Texas Tech |
JR |
Stone |
Harrington |
K |
|
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|
Toledo |
Soph |
Bryson |
Hammer |
WR/PR |
|
|||
|
Troy |
JR |
Tae |
Meadows |
RB |
|
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|
Tulane |
SR |
Sam |
Howard |
LB |
|
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|
Tulsa |
RS-SR |
Stephen |
Kittleman |
QB |
|
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|
UAB |
Soph |
Solomon |
Beebe |
RB |
|
|||
|
UCLA |
RS-SR |
Hudson |
Habermehl |
TE |
|
|||
|
USC |
RS-F |
King |
Miller |
RB |
|
|||
|
Utah |
Soph |
Jackson |
Bennee |
S |
|
|||
|
Utah State |
SR |
Bryson |
Barnes |
QB |
|
|||
|
Vanderbilt |
SR |
Nick |
Rinaldi |
LB |
|
|||
|
Virginia |
SR |
J'Mari |
Taylor |
RB |
|
|||
|
Virginia Tech |
RS-Soph |
Ja'Ricous |
Hairston |
TE |
|
|||
|
Wake Forest |
RS-SR |
Nick |
Anderson |
DB |
|
|||
|
Washington State |
RS-SR |
Tucker |
Large |
S |
|
|||
|
West Virginia |
RS-JR |
Macguire |
Moss |
LS |
|
|||
|
Western Kentucky |
RS-SR |
Marshall |
Jackson |
LT |
|
|||
|
Wisconsin |
RS-SR |
Mason |
Reiger |
OLB |
|
|||
|
Wyoming |
SR |
Ben |
Florentine |
NT |
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