IRVING, Texas – Nicholls State University senior running back Michael Henry has been named a semifinalist for the 2015 William V. Campbell Trophy, the National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame (NFF) announced Thursday afternoon.
 
The Campbell Trophy is presented to the nation's absolute best football scholar-athlete. Henry is one of 135 semifinalists, which includes all levels of college football, as well as just one of 23 recipients from the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS).
 
Along with being one of the top running backs in the Southland Conference, Henry has been a true definition of the term student-athlete since coming to Nicholls. A native of Baton Rouge, Henry posts a 3.3 grade point average as a marketing major and has made the Dean's List in each semester. Along with being a three-time member of the Southland Conference Commissioner's Fall Honor Roll, Henry was a Southland All-Academic and Capital One Academic All-District nominee in 2014 after his breakout season.
 
A member of the Nicholls Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, Henry is active in the Colonels' community service efforts such as visiting schools to interact and read to children and visiting the local hospital. Last winter, he volunteered his time to help a Toys for Tots event in Houma.
 
On the field, Henry put together an outstanding junior campaign last season as he was named Second Team All-Southland in his first full year as the Colonels' feature back. In 11 games, he rushed for 1,005 yards and six touchdowns, becoming only the third Colonel in program history to rush for 1,000 yards in a single season. Averaging 5.2 yards per carry, Henry was third in the Southland in rushing yards with 91.4 per game, which ranked 34th best in the FCS. He also added 28 receptions for 253 yards on the year, averaging 114.4 all-purpose yards per outing. This season, Henry has rushed for 117 yards in the Colonels' two games.
 
Nominated by their schools, which are limited to one nominee each, candidates for the awards must be a senior or graduate student in their final year of eligibility, have a GPA of at least 3.2 on a 4.0 scale, have outstanding football ability as a first team player or significant contributor and have demonstrated strong leadership and citizenship. The class is selected each year by the NFF Awards Committee, which is comprised of a nationally recognized group of media, College Football Hall of Famers and athletics administrators.
 
The NFF will announce 15 finalists on Oct. 29, and each of them will receive an $18,000 postgraduate scholarship as a member of the NFF National Scholar-Athlete Class, presented by Fidelity Investments. The finalists will travel to New York City for the 58th NFF Annual Awards Dinner on Dec. 8, where their accomplishments will be highlighted in front of one of the most powerful audiences in all of sports. At the event, one member of the class will be declared in dramatic fashion the winner of the 26th William V. Campbell Trophy and have his postgraduate scholarship increased to $25,000.