Clemson RB named Collegiate Man of the Year semifinalist

Rencher won the Disney Spirit Award last year.

by Press Release - Wed Nov 10 13:11:51 GMT-04:00 2021

Organizers for the Jason Witten Collegiate Man of the Year Award announced today that Clemson running back Darien Rencher has been named a semifinalist for their 2021 honor, a group that includes 20 of the nation’s top leaders in college football.

Compiled by a subset of the Jason Witten Collegiate Man of the Year Selection Committee, the semifinalists have all demonstrated a record of leadership by exhibiting exceptional courage, integrity and sportsmanship both on and off the field.

Eighteen seniors and two juniors make up the list. Among conferences, the ACC and Big Ten led the way with four selections each, while the SEC and Big 12 had three each. The Pac 12 and MAC each had two semifinalists, while the American Athletic Conference had one selection. There is also one semifinalist from an FBS Independent program.

The full list of semifinalists includes: Grant Morgan (Arkansas), Brandon Martin (Ball State), James Empey (BYU), Elijah Hicks (California), Desmond Ridder (Cincinnati), Darien Rencher (Clemson), Jake Bobo (Duke), Vederian Lowe (Illinois), Skylar Thompson (Kansas State), Joshua Paschal (Kentucky), Tanner Morgan (Minnesota), Austin Williams (Mississippi State), Adrian Martinez (Nebraska), Patrick Fields (Oklahoma), Sean Clifford (Penn State), Nick Figueroa (Southern California), Kingsley Jonathan (Syracuse), Tony Bradford, Jr. (Texas Tech), Bryce Harris (Toledo) and Brock Hoffman (Virginia Tech).

Three finalists will be named for the award on Wednesday, December 15. The winner will be announced at the award ceremony in Frisco, Texas, on February 17, 2022.

Last year, Sam Ehlinger of Texas won the award. The first three Jason Witten Collegiate Man of the Year awards were presented to Shaquem Griffin of UCF in 2017, D’Cota Dixon of Wisconsin in 2018 and Trey Smith of Tennessee in 2019.

The award is the first college football honor to focus primarily on a player’s leadership, both on and off the field. Leadership is a term synonymous with Jason Witten, who, in addition to becoming one of the best tight ends in the history of the sport, served as one of football’s most prominent role models during his 16-year pro career. In addition to winning the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award in 2012, Witten also received the Bart Starr Award, Pro Football Weekly’s Humanitarian of the Year Award, Home Depot NFL Neighborhood MVP and the Bob Lilly Award, among many others. All of those honors have recognized his work in the community, achievements on the field and dedication to his teammates and family.

“It’s my honor to announce this impressive group of young men as semifinalists for the fifth annual Collegiate Man of the Year,” said Witten. “These student-athletes are perfect examples of what makes college football so great. They have demonstrated exceptional character and leadership, often while facing large challenges. They are great representatives for the game of football, and I commend all nominees for getting to this point.”

The winner of the Jason Witten Collegiate Man of the Year will also receive a $10,000 contribution in his name to his school’s athletic scholarship fund. The contribution will be made by Jason Witten’s SCORE Foundation, the official charity of Jason and his wife Michelle. The SCORE Foundation, founded in 2007, has positively impacted tens of thousands of children and families in Texas and Tennessee over the last 14 years. The foundation operates its nationally-recognized SCOREkeepers program, which places trained male mentors on staff to work with children at family violence shelters, at nine shelters in the two states.

Rencher profile

Darien Rencher, Clemson (Sr., RB) – A walk-on turned team and community leader for the Tigers, Rencher earned his degree in psychology last year and has made the ACC Honor Roll five times. One of four lead organizers of the Clemson Community Peaceful Demonstration in June 2020, he also worked with Trevor Lawrence to spearhead the #WeWantToPlay movement that helped save college football last year. He won the Disney Spirit Award, presented to college football’s most inspirational player, in 2020.