IOWA CITY, Iowa – University of Iowa senior linebacker Josey Jewell has been named to the National Football Foundation Hampshire Honor Society. The announcement was made Wednesday by the National Football Foundation.
Now in its 12th year, the Hampshire Society recognizes senior football players who are starters or significant reserves, and carry a cumulative grade point average of 3.20 or higher (on a 4.0 scale) throughout their college career. The NFF recognized 1,251 players from 302college football programs at all levels. The entire list can be found on the National Football Foundation website, http://www.footballfoundation.org.
Jewell, a native of Decorah, carried a 3.25 GPA and earned his bachelor’s degree in Enterprise Leadership. He earned Academic All-Big Ten recognition for the third straight year. Jewell in 2015 became the only sophomore under Kirk Ferentz to be named a permanent team captain, earning that recognition three straight seasons.
Jewell started all 12 games in which he played in 2017, missing one game due to injury. He led the Big Ten and ranked fourth nationally in tackles with 136 tackles. He ranks fourth in career tackles (437) and is just the third Hawkeye ever to record more than 115 tackles in three different seasons.
Jewell earned unanimous consensus All-America honors, and was the recipient of the 2017 Lott IMPACT Trophy and Jack Lambert Award. He was the Big Ten Conference Defensive Player of the Year and the Linebacker of the Year while earning first team All-Big Ten honors.
Jewell was one of five finalists for the Bronko Nagurski Trophy, and a semifinalist for the Bednarik and Butkus awards.
The Hampshire Honor Society represents a powerful component in the NFF's rich history as an innovator in promoting the scholar-athlete ideal. Since its inception in 1959, the NFF's National Scholar-Athlete Awards program has awarded $11.3 million to 841 top scholars and community leaders.