Arkansas State junior safety Justin Parks was one of 110 FBS players across the nation named Thursday to the 2023 Wuerffel Trophy Watch List.
College Football’s Premier Award for Community Service, and one of the most meaningful awards in collegiate sports, the Wuerffel Trophy is named after Danny Wuerffel, the 1996 Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback from the University of Florida who parlayed his success on the football field into a lifetime of service. The Wuerffel Trophy embodies Danny’s commitment to being a humanitarian, while honoring student-athletes who are inspired to serve others and make positive impacts on society.
Semifinalists for the award will be announced on November 2, and finalists will be announced on November 28. The formal announcement of the 2023 recipient is scheduled to be made on December 7 or December 8 during The Home Depot College Football Awards on ESPN, and the presentation of the 2023 Wuerffel Trophy will take place on February 17, 2024, at the College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta, Ga.
Parks, who has played in 21 career games at A-State, is on course to graduate in the fall of 2024 with a bachelor’s degree in sport management. He has made multiple appearances on the A-State Athletics Director Honor Roll.
The Gardendale, Ala., native has been an active member in the football team’s community service projects, including appearances at the City Youth Ministries After School Program, Jonesboro Parks and Recreation Park Clean Up, and University Heights Elementary Recess and Chess Club. Parks has 41 career tackles in his two seasons donning the Scarlet and Black, including 34 last season, and is a team captain.
Parks is the seventh player in program history to appear on the Wuerffel Trophy Watch List joining Fredi Knighten (2015), Blaise Taylor (2016, 2017), Justice Hansen (2018), Tajhea Chambers (2019), Andre Harris Jr. (2020, 2021) and Eddie Smith (2022). Taylor was a finalist for the award in 2017.
The Wuerffel Trophy is a member of the National College Football Awards Association. Founded in 1997, the NCFAA includes college football’s most prestigious awards and its 24 awards have honored more than 900 receipents dating back to 1935. This season, 12 NCFAA awards will honor national players of the week each Tuesday.
A-State opens the 2023 season Saturday, Sept. 2, at Oklahoma in a game nationally televised on ESPN. The home opener is Saturday, Sept. 9, at 6:00 p.m. against Memphis.
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