LOGAN —Utah State senior placekicker Dominik Eberle has been named to the Wuerffel Trophy Watch List, it was announced Thursday by the National College Football Awards Association (NCFAA).

The Wuerffel Trophy, known as "College Football's Premier Award for Community Service," is presented annually by the All Sports Association in Fort Walton Beach Florida. Named after 1996 Heisman Trophy winning quarterback Danny Wuerffel from the University of Florida, the Wuerffel Trophy is awarded to the FBS player that best combines exemplary community service with athletic and academic achievement.

Eberle is one of nine Mountain West players named to the Wuerffel Trophy Watch List and one of 91 players from college football's Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) nominated for the award.

Nominations for the Wuerffel Trophy are made by the respective universities' Sports Information Departments and will close on October 15. A current list of nominees can be found at wuerffeltrophy.org beginning on August 1. Semifinalists for the award will be announced on November 5 and finalists will be announced on November 18.

The formal announcement of the 2019 recipient will be made at the National Football Foundation's festivities in New York City on December 10. The presentation of the 2019 Wuerffel Trophy will occur at the 51st All Sports Association Awards Banquet on February 14, 2020 in Fort Walton Beach, Florida.

Eberle, a 6-foot-2, 195-pounder from Nuremberg, Germany (Redondo Union HS, Calif.), earned honorable mention all-Mountain West honors from the league's coaches and third-team all-MW honors from Phil Steele's Magazine after serving as the team's placekicker in all 13 games as a junior. He was also named a semifinalist for the Lou Groza Award as the nation's top placekicker in 2018 as he set a single-season school record by scoring 141 points. For the season, he was 22-for-28 on field goals and 75-for-75 on extra points, setting the school record for PATs made and attempted in a single season. He also set the single-season school record for points per game (10.8), which ranked fourth nationally.

Eberle had the best game of his career against New Mexico State during his junior season as he tied the NCAA record for points scored by a kicker with 24, and 50-yard field goals made in a single game with three.

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Eberle also earned third-team All-America honors from Phil Steele's Magazine, honorable mention All-America honors from SB Nation and first-team all-Mountain West honors, along with being named a finalist for the Lou Groza Award as a sophomore in 2017, as he finished the season scoring a team-best 101 points as he was a perfect 47-of-47 on extra points and 18-of-24 (.750) on field goals.

Heading into his senior campaign, Eberle ranks second all-time in school history in field goals made (43) and fourth all-time in field goals attempted (57) and is third all-time in field goal percentage (.754). He has also scored 251 points in his career to rank fourth all-time in school history, including third all-time among kickers and is the only player in school history to have four or more 50-yard field goals in a career.

Off the field, Eberle has twice earned academic all-Mountain West honors as he will receive his bachelor's degree from USU this academic year in international business and marketing. He also spends countless hours working with various groups/organizations on campus and in the community. Utah State returns nine starters (O-2, D-7) as part of 32 letterwinners (O-13, D-17, S-2), including two All-Americans and eight players that earned various all-Mountain West honors, from last year’s team that ended the season ranked 21st in the final Amway Coaches poll and 22nd in the final AP poll as the Aggies tied the school record for wins and best record with an 11-2 mark following their 52-13 win against North Texas in the New Mexico Bowl.

Utah State opens the 2019 season on Friday, Aug. 30, at Wake Forest, and begins the home portion of its schedule the following weekend against Stony Brook on Saturday, Sept. 7. Mountain West play begins for the Aggies at San Diego State on Saturday, Sept. 21.

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