IRVING, Texas – Stanford fifth-year outside linebacker Casey Toohill was named a finalist for the prestigious William V. Campbell Trophy® on Wednesday, announced by the National Football Foundation. The Campbell Trophy annually recognizes the best football scholar-athlete in the nation for his combined academic success, football performance and exemplary leadership.
"Casey Toohill is a great example of what it means to truly be a scholar-athlete," Bradford M. Freeman Director of Football David Shaw. "His work ethic, attention to detail and the passion he plays the game with is matched only by his desire to excel as a student at Stanford University."
Toohill, who is one of 12 members of the NFF National Scholar-Athlete Class, will be recognized in New York during the 62nd Annual Awards Dinner on Tuesday, Dec. 10. He will receive an $18,000 postgraduate scholarship, with one member of the class being declared the winner of the 30th William V. Campbell Trophy® and having their scholarship amount increased to $25,000.
"This is the most prestigious honor I could have imagined receiving at Stanford," Toohill said. "I am so honored to represent Stanford and to honor the legacy of Bill Campbell. My parents have always stressed the importance of academic pursuits and have been crucial in my development as a Stanford student-athlete. I owe it to my family and the structure they provided to help me succeed."
A native of San Diego, Toohill is a team captain will graduate in December with a degree in political science. He is a three-time Pac-12 All-Academic member and earned CoSIDA Academic All-District in 2017. Toohill holds a 3.71 grade-point average and would like to attend business school following his playing career.
On the field, Toohill leads the Cardinal with 45 total tackles, including 7.5 tackles for loss and five sacks. He has added a forced fumble and nine quarterback hurries. He is tied for fifth in the Pac-12 in tackles for loss while his sack total ranks third.
He will become the 13th Cardinal in school history to earn NFF National Scholar-Athlete honors and the first since Jordan Richards in 2014. Toohill, Richards and Owen Marecic (2010) are the only three Cardinal to earn NFF Scholar-Athlete honors since 1997.
Stanford NFF Scholar-Athletes (13)
1967 John Root
1970 John Sande III
1976 Duncan McColl
1980 Milt McColl
1981 Darrin Nelson
1983 John Bergren
1992 Glyn Milburn
1994 Justin Armour
1995 David Walker
1997 Damon Dunn
2010 Owen Marecic
2014 Jordan Richards
2019 Casey Toohill