|
|
|
NFF Announces 2009 National High School Scholar-Athletes
Air Force's Gavin Mills one of five collegiate freshmen honored
Oct. 12, 2009 DALLAS, Oct. 12, 2009 - Air Force freshman Gavin Mills is one of five individuals recognized today by the National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame (NFF) for their accomplishments as athletes, scholars and citizens in high school, naming them as the NFF National High School Scholar-Athletes for 2009. Joining Mills on the list of honorees is Brenton Caprio (College of William & Mary), John Gilboy (Colby College), Matt Lancaster (Illinois State) and Jamal-Rashad Patterson (Stanford). Selected from the 400,000 high school football players covered by the NFF Chapter Network, the five scholar-athletes will be honored for their combined high school accomplishments during the NFF Chapter Awards Luncheon, presented by Sprinturf, on Tuesday, December 8, 2009, at the Waldorf-Astoria in New York City. First bestowed in 1991, the NFF National High School Scholar-Athlete Award has become one of the most prestigious high school honors in the country. Criteria for the award include but are not limited to academic achievement, athletic accolades and community involvement. Mills, a Powell, Wyo., native who entered the Air Force Academy with the class of 2013, built an exceptional legacy at Powell Senior High School that extends far beyond an impressive résumé and only reveals a small fraction of his individual talents. A team captain his junior and senior year, Mills earned First Team All-State and All-Conference honors for three consecutive years. In 2007, he was named the Class 4-A Defensive Player of the Year. As a wide receiver, Mills made 66 receptions for 905 yards and 17 touchdowns. As a free safety, he recorded 335 defensive points, including 67 unassisted tackles, 103 assisted tackles, 11 pass break-ups, 11 pass interceptions and three fumble recoveries over his career. The valedictorian of his class, Mills tallied a 4.0 GPA and scored 27 on his ACT. A three-year member of the National Honor Society, he claimed the Distinguished Scholastic Achievement Award and the Wyoming Coaches Association Academic Award all four years of his high school career.
An outstanding leader, Mills was student body president his senior year and class president his junior year. Active in his church he was a Sunday school teacher and member of the youth group music team. Mills also volunteered for the Make-A-Wish Foundation, the Heartland Assisted Living facility and the community food drive. Covering 4,800 high schools in 47 states, the NFF chapter network, comprised of 120 chapters with 12,000 members, annually analyzes the credentials of the top scholar-athletes from each school, ranking them on their academic achievement, athletic performance and community leadership. Selecting 3,300 student-athletes for recognition at local award banquets, the chapters distribute nearly $1 million in scholarships. From this pool of the nation's best, a national committee then selects five individuals for the recognition as NFF National High School Scholar-Athletes at the New York City ceremonies. Recent recipients of the NFF National High School Scholar-Athlete Awards include Andrew Luck, starting quarterback at Stanford, Bryant Browning, starting offensive tackle at Ohio State and Brandon Fisher, starting linebacker at Montana and a 2009 William V. Campbell Trophy semifinalist. Fisher is also the son of Tennessee Titans head coach Jeff Fisher. |
|
