FCS has the Walter Payton Award, handed out since 1987. Division II has the Harlon Hill Trophy, which is actually a year older than the Walter Payton, first awarded in 1986. Division III has the Gagliardi Trophy, born in 1993, and NAIA has the, uh, NAIA Player of the Year Award, which does not have as cool of a name as it should but does have a history dating back to 1997.
Each level of 4-year football has its own version of the Heisman Trophy, but 2-year football does not. Until now.
JUCOWeekly has launched the Walter Jones Trophy, the junior college answer to the Heisman.
A Pro Football Hall of Famer, a four-time First Team All-Pro, a nine-time Pro Bowler, an All-2000s Team member, an NFL 100th Anniversary All-Time Teamer, a Second Team All-American and a No. 6 overall pick, Jones's career began at the junior college level.
An Aliceville, Ala., product, Jones signed with Holmes Community College out of high school. The Jackson Clarion-Ledger named him the Mississippi Junior College Player of the Year in 1994, which propelled him to Florida State, which then propelled him to one of the 100 greatest careers in NFL history. And now JUCOWeekly will make an annual effort to spot the next Walter Jones.
"Playing JUCO football gave me the opportunity to chase my dreams of playing professionally. JUCO ball was an important stepping stone that brought me to play college ball at Florida State University which then led me to getting drafted into the NFL by the Seattle Seahawks" Jones told the site. "The JUCO coaching staff really helped me get a better understanding of the game of football and enabled me to become a better player. I am passionate about encouraging our youth to pursue their dreams of playing football. I have always said that if you are good, they will find you. You can be recognized no matter what school you attend."
A multi-region selection committee will choose five semi-finalists in November. The following day, voters will whittle the list down to three finalists, who, along with their coach, will be flown to Orlando. The inaugural Walter Jones Trophy ceremony, hosted by the Orlando Touchdown Club, will take place Monday, Nov. 21 at Orlando's Dubsdread ballroom.
"If you are one of the finalists for the Walter Jones Trophy then you deserve to be celebrated. JUCO football is tough. It takes grit, talent, drive, determination, and a desire to want to succeed," said JUCOWeekly founder Mike Frazer. "Earning an invitation to the Walter Jones Trophy Presentation and having the likes of Walter Jones, who has walked that path and made it to the top of the mountain, to personally present the player with the trophy will be a memory that will last a lifetime for that young man. This event will also provide enormous exposure for the student athlete, for the school he represents, and for JUCO football as a whole."