Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jul 19, 2026

Burlsworth Trophy

The Burlsworth Trophy is an award given annually to the most outstanding FBS college football player who began his career as a walk-on. It was first awarded for the 2010 season and is a program of the Brandon Burlsworth Foundation. Burlsworth walked on to the Arkansas Razorbacks football program in 1994 and became an All-American. He was killed in a car accident 11 days after being selected by the Indianapolis Colts in the third round of the 1999 NFL draft.

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Burlsworth Trophy
Awarded forThe most outstanding FBS college football player who began his career as a walk-on.
LocationCrystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville, Arkansas
CountryUnited States
Presented byThe Brandon Burlsworth Foundation
History
First award2010
Most recentNorth Texas quarterback Drew Mestemaker
Websitehttp://burlsworthtrophy.com/

The Burlsworth Trophy is an award given annually to the most outstanding FBS college football player who began his career as a walk-on.12 It was first awarded for the 2010 season and is a program of the Brandon Burlsworth Foundation. Burlsworth walked on to the Arkansas Razorbacks football program in 1994 and became an All-American. He was killed in a car accident 11 days after being selected by the Indianapolis Colts in the third round of the 1999 NFL draft.3

On October 28, 2019, the Burlsworth Trophy became a member of the National College Football Awards Association (NCFAA). It joins the Broyles Award as the only members of the NCFAA originating in Arkansas.4 The trophy was sculpted and produced by Raymond Gibby of Nobility Bronze in Pea Ridge, Arkansas.

Winners and finalists

Year Winner Pos. School Other finalists Ref.
2010 Sean Bedford C Georgia Tech Army LB Josh McNary;
Tennessee LB Nick Reveiz;
Oklahoma State FB Bryant Ward;
Boise State DE Ryan Winterswyk		 5
2011 Austin Davis QB Southern Miss Houston WR Patrick Edwards;
Stanford WR Griff Whalen		 6
2012 Matt McGloin QB Penn State Michigan S Jordan Kovacs;
San José State OT David Quessenberry		 7
2013 Jared Abbrederis WR Wisconsin Missouri G Max Copeland;
Tulsa RB Trey Watts		 8
2014 Justin Hardy WR East Carolina Mississippi State G Ben Beckwith;
Iowa FB Mark Weisman		 9
2015 Baker Mayfield QB Oklahoma Washington State QB Luke Falk;
Penn State DE Carl Nassib		 10
2016 Baker Mayfield (2) QB Oklahoma Northwestern WR Austin Carr;
Washington State QB Luke Falk		 11
2017 Luke Falk QB Washington State Wisconsin TE Troy Fumagalli;
Oklahoma QB Baker Mayfield;
Memphis WR Anthony Miller		 12
2018 Hunter Renfrow WR Clemson California RB Patrick Laird;
Wyoming S Marcus Epps		 13
2019 Kenny Willekes DE Michigan State Georgia K Rodrigo Blankenship;
California S/RS Ashtyn Davis		 14
2020 Jimmy Morrissey C Pittsburgh BYU WR Dax Milne;
Arkansas LB Grant Morgan		 15
2021 Grant Morgan LB Arkansas Georgia QB Stetson Bennett;
Troy LB Carlton Martial		 16
2022 Stetson Bennett QB Georgia Purdue QB Aidan O'Connell;
Troy LB Carlton Martial		 17
2023 Cody Schrader RB Missouri James Madison DT James Carpenter;
Oklahoma WR Drake Stoops		 18
2024 Bryce Boettcher LB Oregon Buffalo LB Shaun Dolac;
Indiana DT James Carpenter		 19
2025 Drew Mestemaker QB North Texas Oklahoma G Febechi Nwaiwu;
Texas S Michael Taaffe		 20
References

References

  1. "Burlsworth Trophy".
  2. "1st Burlsworth trophy goes to Ga. Tech walk-on", Associated Press in The Seattle Times, March 15, 2011.
  3. "Arkansas to honor Brandon Burlsworth", Associated Press at ESPN.com, August 19, 2010.
  4. "The Burlsworth Trophy Becomes Member of NCFAA". Hogville.net. Archived from the original on October 30, 2019. Retrieved October 30, 2019.
  5. "2010 Trophy Winner – Burlsworth Trophy".
  6. "Southern Miss QB wins Burlsworth Award", Associated Press in Knoxville News Sentinel, December 9. 2011.
  7. "Penn State QB McGloin wins Burlsworth Award", Associated Press at Yahoo! Sports, December 3, 2012.
  8. "Wisconsin WR Abbrederis win Burlsworth Award" (Press release). Wisconsin Badgers. December 9, 2013. Archived from the original on December 10, 2013. Retrieved December 8, 2013.
  9. "Justin Hardy Named 2014 Burlsworth Trophy Winner" (Press release). ECU Athletics. December 8, 2014. Archived from the original on December 9, 2014. Retrieved December 8, 2014.
  10. "Oklahoma Quarterback Baker Mayfield Named 2015 Burlsworth Trophy Winner" (Press release). Burlsworth Trophy. December 7, 2015. Archived from the original on December 18, 2015. Retrieved December 19, 2015.
  11. "Baker Mayfield Named 2016 Burlsworth Trophy Winner" (Press release). Burlsworth Trophy. December 5, 2016. Archived from the original on December 20, 2016. Retrieved December 5, 2016.
  12. "Washington State's Luke Falk Named 2017 Burlsworth Trophy Winner" (Press release). Burlsworth Trophy. December 4, 2017. Archived from the original on December 5, 2017. Retrieved December 4, 2017.
  13. Clemson receiver wins Burlsworth Trophy, NWA Online, December 3, 2018
  14. Solari, Chris (December 9, 2019). "Michigan State football DE Kenny Willekes wins Burlsworth Trophy as best former walk-on". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved December 9, 2019.
  15. McGonigal, John (January 4, 2021). "Pitt's Jimmy Morrissey wins Burlsworth Trophy as college football's top former walk-on". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved January 5, 2020.
  16. "Grant Morgan Named 2021 Burlsworth Trophy Winner". burlsworthtrophy.com. December 6, 2021. Retrieved September 24, 2025.
  17. "Stetson Bennett Named 2022 Burlsworth Trophy Winner". burlsworthtrophy.com. December 5, 2022. Retrieved September 24, 2025.
  18. "Cody Schrader Named 2023 Burlsworth Trophy Winner". burlsworthtrophy.com. December 4, 2023. Retrieved September 24, 2025.
  19. Oregonian/OregonLive, James Crepea | The (December 10, 2024). "Oregon linebacker Bryce Boettcher wins Burlsworth Trophy". oregonlive. Retrieved December 10, 2024.
  20. "Mestemaker Named 2025 Burlsworth Trophy Winner" (Press release). Brandon Burlsworth Foundation. December 8, 2025. Retrieved December 9, 2025.
External links