Cajuns TE Evan Tatford A Semifinalist For Campbell Trophy

Louisiana Ragin' Cajun senior tight end Evan Tatford is an incredible student of the game, and an incredible student in the classroom. Today, he was recognized for both.

Tatford has been named one of 135 semifinalists for the prestigious William V. Campbell Trophy. The award is given to a college football player who embodies the student-athlete ideal.

The winner will receive the 25 lb. broze Campbell trophy, along with an increase of $25,000 to their postgraduate scholarship.

Tatford, a Lafayette native and biology major, sports a 3.76 ERA, and was named UL's male student athlete of the year for 2014-15. In addition, he's a member of the UL Dean’s List, the UL President’s List and the Sun Belt Conference Commissioner’s List. He was also named to the Sun Belt Conference Leadership Team 2015 for all his off the field work.

Evan remains an active member of the community, volunteering as a L.I.F.E (Learning is for Everyone) mentor and as a Special Olympics volunteer. He's taken part in the Ragin’ Cajuns Reading In Red campaign, as well as Adopt-A-Family. He's currently serving year two of his two-year term as the Sun Belt Conference Representative on the NCAA Division I Student-Athlete Advisory Committee.

“It is not surprising to me that Evan aspires to spend his professional life helping others as he never misses a chance to give back to his community,” Louisiana Director of Athletics Scott Farmer said in a University press release. “Whether it is reading to elementary school children, mentoring youth or visiting local hospital patients, Evan has a passion to serve others.”

The National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame (NFF) will trim down the list to 15 finalists on October 29th, with each player receiving an $18,000 postgraduate scholarship. The winner will be announced on December 8th, and will have their postgraduate scholarship increase to $25,000.