University of Nebraska punter Brian Buschini was named a semifinalist for the 2023 William V. Campbell Trophy®, college football’s premier scholar-athlete award, Wednesday morning.
The award recognizes an individual as the absolute best in the country for his combined academic success, football performance and exemplary leadership, and the candidates also comprise the pool of nominees for the 2023 National Football Foundation National Scholar-Athlete Awards Presented by Fidelity Investments.
Buschini is looking to become the Huskers' third Campbell Trophy Award winner, joining Rob Zatechka (1994) and Kyle Vanden Bosch (2000).
Buschini has excelled in the classroom, earning his bachelor's degree in criminology and criminal justice from Nebraska in December of 2022 and is currently pursuing his master's degree in construction engineering and management. Buschini, who began his career at Montana, has been on the Nebraska Scholar-Athlete Honor Roll in each of his three semesters at Nebraska.
He has started all 16 games since transferring to Nebraska after the 2021 season. Last season, he averaged 44.0 yards per punt on 68 attempts, an average which ranked 25th nationally, as he placed 14 punts inside the opponent’s 20-yard line. This season, he is averaging 42.7 yards per punt and has placed nine of his 19 punts inside the 20-yard line. He was the FCS Punter of the Year and a first-team All-American at Montana in 2021 when he averaged 46.0 yards per punt, including 28 covering at least 50 yards and 30 of his 69 punts downed inside the opponent 20-yard line.
Each nominee 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. He was one of 201 players across all levels of college football to be recognized as a semifinalist.
The National Football Foundation will announce 12-15 finalists on Oct. 25, and each finalist will receive an $18,000 postgraduate scholarship as a member of the 2023 NFF National Scholar-Athlete Class Presented by Fidelity Investments. One of the finalists will be named the winner of the 34th Campbell Trophy® during the 65th NFF Annual Awards Dinner Presented by Las Vegas on Dec. 5 and have his postgraduate scholarship increased to $25,000.