HUSKER FOOTBALL: Stille Named Campbell Trophy Semifinalist

Ben Stille (Courtesy of NU Athletics)

LINCOLN–(NU Athletics Oct. 1)–University of Nebraska defensive lineman Ben Stille was recognized Thursday morning as one of 199 semifinalists for the 2020 William V. Campbell Trophy® Presented by Mazda.

The Campbell Trophy is presented by the National Football Foundation and College Football Hall of Fame and recognizes an individual as the top football scholar-athlete in the nation.

Stille is looking to become the Huskers’ third Campbell Trophy Award winner, joining Rob Zatechka (1994) and Kyle Vanden Bosch (2000). Nebraska is one seven programs nationally to have multiple Campbell Trophy winners.

A senior from Ashland, Neb., Stille has been one of the Huskers’ top student-athletes throughout his tenure at Nebraska. A three-time Academic All-Big Ten performer, he has been on the Nebraska Scholar-Athlete Honor Roll six times, including each of the past four semesters. In 2020, he was named a Big Ten Distinguished Scholar for carrying at least a 3.7 GPA during the previous academic year. He was also a first-team CoSIDA Academic All-District VII performer in 2019.

On the field, Stille has played 33 games as a Husker and has 80 career tackles, including 21 for loss, and 11.5 career sacks. During his junior campaign, he played all 12 contests, totaling 31 tackles along with eight tackles for loss and a 3.0 sacks. In 2017, he paced NU in both sacks and tackles for loss, becoming the first freshman to ever lead the Huskers in both categories.

The NFF will announce 12-14 finalists in November, and each of them will receive an $18,000 postgraduate scholarship as a member of the NFF National Scholar-Athlete Class Presented by Fidelity Investments. One of the finalists will be named the winner of the 31st Campbell Trophy® Presented by Mazda, and his postgraduate scholarship will be increased to $25,000.

To be eligible, each nominee 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 candidates come from all levels of play in the NCAA and the NAIA.

This marks the third preseason honor for Stille, as he was Nebraska’s nominee for the AFCA Good Works team and was on the Wuerffel Trophy Watch list for his work in the community.