The National Football Foundation Gridiron Club of Dallas Chapter has announced the names of the eight Texas collegiate scholar-athletes and the 74 North Texas high school scholar-athletes who will be honored for their accomplishments during the chapter’s annual awards banquet Sunday, March 24, at 6 p.m. at the Dallas/Addison Marriott Quorum by the Galleria.
Lance Canyon from Rowlett High School and Roger Davis-Jahnel from Naaman Forest High School are among the scholar-athletes to be honored.
A number of scholarships will be awarded, and one high school player will be named the club’s top scholar-athlete. Award-winning sportscaster Scott Murray will emcee for the 11th consecutive year.
“We are incredibly proud of this year’s scholar-athletes,” said Gerald Brence, president of the National Football Foundation Gridiron Club of Dallas Chapter and the athletics director for the Plano Independent School District. “In the 11th year of our chapter, we are honoring another great group of high school scholar-athletes who continue to impress, not only on the field competitively but also as scholars and young community leaders. It’s always an honor to meet these young men, showcasing the great stories in North Texas that will inspire future student-athletes to excel in the classroom and become more involved in their communities.”
Selected from a pool of candidates that covers the entire region, the eight collegiate and 74 high school players earned NFF chapter scholar-athlete recognition in 2019 after a rigorous review. The selection committee, comprised of coaches, teachers, administrators and business leaders from North Texas, evaluated the college and high school candidates based on their athletic accomplishments, academic performance and leadership in the community. The high school honorees will enroll in the fall at a prestigious list of institutions, including Ivy League schools, state universities and the service academies.