Lincoln – University of Nebraska center Mark Pelini is among the semifinalists for the 2014 William V. Campbell Trophy announced Thursday.

Pelini, a senior from Youngstown, Ohio, anchors a Husker offensive line which leads the Big Ten and ranks eighth in the country in total offense (559.8 ypg.). The Huskers also rank in the top-10 nationally in sacks allowed (one, fourth), rushing yards per game (329.0 ypg., fifth) and scoring offense (45.5 ppg., 10th). A three-year letterwinner, Pelini saw time at center in 2013 and has started each of the first four game this season for the unbeaten Huskers.

In the classroom, he is a two-time academic All-Big Ten selection and has been named to Nebraska Scholar-Athlete Honor Roll five times during his tenure at Nebraska. Pelini was named to both the Brook Berringer Citizenship Team and Tom Osborne Citizenship Team in 2014 for his community outreach work. Pelini has volunteered his time with School is Cool Week, Husker Heroes, Husker Hotline, Super Hero Day, NFL Fuel Up to Play 60 and local school and hospital outreach activities.

The National Football Foundation (NFF) Awards Committee will select up to 16 finalists and award $18,000 scholarships that can be used for the honorees’ postgraduate educations. The recipients will be announced on Thursday, Oct. 30, and one of the finalists will be selected as the Campbell Trophy winner on Dec. 9.

The nominees 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.

Nebraska leads the nation with 22 National Football Foundation Scholar-Athletes, most recently Spencer Long in 2013.