Senior
I-back Rex Burkhead was one of 30 national candidates announced for the 2012
Lowe's Senior CLASS Award, released on Thursday, Sept. 20. Burkhead and Wisconsin's
Montee Ball were the only two running backs named to the list.
Burkhead's
appearance on the list came two days after he was named to the AFCA Good Works
team. Last season, Husker defensive tackle Jared Crick was also a candidate for
the Senior CLASS Award and a member of the Good Works team.
An
acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School, the
Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student-athlete and encourages students
to use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact as leaders in their
communities.
Burkhead
has been a model student-athlete during his first three seasons at Nebraska. On
the field, the Plano, Texas, native ranks 11th in school history in career
rushing yards and was a first-team All-Big Ten selection last season. Burkhead
was also one of10 national finalists for the Doak Walker Award and he is a
preseason candidate for the Doak Walker, Walter Camp and Maxwell awards.
Off
the field, Burkhead has also excelled in the classroom and in the community. He
was a first-team CoSIDA Academic All-American in 2011 and I a two-time academic
all-conference honoree. Burkhead has been one of Nebraska's most active
student-athletes in the community, earning a spot on the Brook Berringer
Citizenship Team each of the past three years. Nationally, Burkhead is not only
a member of the Good Works team, but he was an Uplifting Athletes Rare Disease
Champion award winner in 2011-12 for helping to put a national focus on helping
children with rare diseases.
A
list of 10 finalists for the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award will be released midway
through the regular season and those 10 names will be placed on the official
ballot. Ballots will then be distributed through a nationwide voting system.
