BATON ROUGE — For the third time in four years, LSU has a football player earn one of the most prestigious awards the can be bestowed upon a student-athlete as Rudy Niswanger is among 16 players from all college divisions to be named to the 2005 National Scholar-Athlete Class, the National Football Foundation and Hall of Fame announced on Thursday.
Niswanger, a senior from Monroe, joins the likes of Rodney Reed (2003), Bradie James (2002), Chad Kessler (1997) and Nacho Albergamo (1987) as Tigers who have gone on to be named a National Scholar-Athlete by the National Football Foundation.
“This is a tremendous honor, one is which I am very proud to be a part of,” Niswanger said. “This really means a great deal to me, but it’s something that I owe a great deal of gratitude to all of my professors and instructors at LSU as well as the outstanding staff at the Academic Center.”
The National Scholar-Athletes were selected from a pool of 184 nominees. All 16 members of the 2005 National Scholar-Athlete Class are also finalists for the Draddy Trophy, which is known as the “Academic” Heisman Trophy.
Nominated by their schools, which are limited to one nominee each, candidates must be a senior or graduate student in their final year of eligibility, have a GPA of at least 3.0 on a 4.0 scale, have outstanding football ability as a first team player, and have demonstrated strong leadership and citizenship.
Selected by the NFF Awards Committee, the 16 National Scholar-Athlete Award recipients will each be honored at the 48th NFF Awards Dinner on December 6 at the Waldorf-Astoria in New York City.
Each will receive an $18,000 post-graduate scholarship, and one of the 16 will be announced as the winner of the 2005 the Draddy Trophy, which recognizes an individual as the absolute best scholar-athlete in the nation. Established to honor former NFF Chairman Vincent dePaul Draddy, a Manhattan College quarterback who developed the Izod and Lacoste brands, the award comes with a stunning 24-inch, 25-pound bronze trophy and increases the recipient’s scholarship to a total of $25,000.
Niswanger, who opted to return to LSU for his senior season of football this year, graduated in May with a 4.0 grade point average in kinesiology with emphasis on pre-medicine. He graduated with honors, receiving the University Medal as well as graduating Summa Cum Laude.
Niswanger has already been accepted to LSU Medical School in Shreveport after scoring a 33 on the MCAT, which placed him among the top eight scores nationally.
On the football field, Niswanger is in his second year as a starter for the Tigers, a stretch that has seen him play all five positions on the offensive line. This year, Niswanger has played in all six games for the Tigers with five starts. He didn’t start, but played most of the contest against Vanderbilt despite suffering from an ankle sprain.”
Niswanger has twice been named the CBS Scholar-Athlete of the Week on its national telecast, most recently in LSU’s 21-17 win over Florida.
Known as one of the most technically sound offensive linemen around, Niswanger has played in 40 games during his LSU career, starting 21 times. He started all 12 games for the Tigers in 2004 after starting four times during LSU’s national championship season in 2003.
Niswanger earned ESPN The Magazine First-Team Academic All-America honors in 2004. He’s also been a three-time member of the SEC Academic Honor Roll as well as being named LSU’s Academic Student-Athlete of the Year three times.
In addition to his contributions on the field as well as his accomplishments in the classroom, Niswanger is also active in the Baton Rouge area community, speaking to children at both the elementary and junior high school levels about the importance of an education.
Niswanger, along with teammate Andrew Whitworth, are in the process of organizing and developing a community outreach program for the LSU football team called “POP, Player Outreach Program. The program efforts are centered on members of the LSU football team spending time and mentoring youth in the Baton Rouge and surrounding communities.
He’s also a member of the LSU Football Unity Council and spent time volunteering at shelters on the LSU campus and in Baton Rouge during the aftermath of recent Hurricane Katrina. He’s also active in Chapel on the Campus and the Campus Crusade for Christ.
2005 National Football Foundation Scholar-Athlete Class
DIVISION I-A
AWARDEE, SCHOOL, POS., MAJOR, HOMETOWN
Josh Betts, Miami Ohio), QB, Finance, Vandalia, Ohio
David Castillo, Florida State, C, Exercise Science / Dietetics, Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.
Greg Eslinger, Minnesota, C, Health & Wellness, Minneapolis, Minn.
Grayling Love, Arizona State, OL, Business Finance, Tempe, Ariz.
Garrett Mills, Tulsa, TE, Management, Tulsa, Okla.
Rudy Niswanger, LSU, OL, Kinesiology, Baton Rouge, La.
DeMeco Ryans, Alabama, LB, Management, Bessemer, Ala.
Bradley Smith, Missouri, QB, Business Admin. / Marketing, Liberty, Ohio
DIVISION I-AA
Reed Doughty, Northern Colorado, FS, Sport & Exercise Sci., Johnstown, Colo.
Nick Hartigan, Brown, RB, Political Science & History, Fairfax, Va.
DIVISION II
Cory Cangelosi, Central Arkansas, DB, Speech Communications, Mandeville, La.
Ryan Koch, St. Cloud State, WR, Computer Science, Madison, Wis.
DIVISION III
Chris Edwards, Wash. & Jeff., QB, Molecular Biology, Uniontown, Ohio
Matt Hawn, Saint John’s (MN), FB, Biology/Pre-Dentistry, Eau Claire, Wis.
Santo Maimone, Case Western Reserve, CB, Chemistry/Anthropology, Eastlake, Ohio
NAIA
Tyler Emmert, Carroll College (MT), QB, Civil Engineering, Helena, Mont.