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Alex Keith of Washington & Jefferson College; Jeremiah Moon of the University of Florida; and Skylar Thompson of Kansas State University Named 2021 Mayo Clinic Comeback Player of the Year Award Nominees
NEW YORK, N.Y. — The College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA), in association with The Associated Press (AP) and the Fiesta Bowl Organization have selected three college football student-athletes—
Alex Keith, a junior defensive end at Washington & Jefferson College;
Jeremiah Moon, a senior linebacker for the University of Florida; and
Skylar Thompson, a senior quarterback at Kansas State —as nominees for the
2021 Mayo Clinic Comeback Player of the Year Award.
Ten times during the 2021 college football season, three inspiring student-athletes from all levels of college football who have overcome injury, illness, or other challenges, are recognized as
Mayo Clinic Comeback Player of the Year Nominees by a panel of writers, editors, and sports information directors from CoSIDA, AP and
Touchdown Illustrated. In December, three of the 30 nominees will be chosen as winners of the
Mayo Clinic Comeback Player of the Year Award and will be recognized at a special ceremony during the PlayStation® Fiesta Bowl on Jan. 1, 2022, at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona. CoSIDA members can nominate football student-athletes until Nov. 1, 2021 at
Comeback-Player.com.
The previously announced nominees are:
Terrel Bernard (LB, Baylor);
Yohance Burnett (LB, Tulsa);
Sean Chambers (QB, Wyoming);
Jack Coan (QB, Notre Dame);
Aidan Hutchinson (DE, Michigan);
Brian Kearns, Jr (RB, Stonehill College);
McKenzie Milton (QB, Florida State);
John Mitchell (TE, Florida Atlantic);
Justyn Ross (WR, Clemson);
Avery Samuels (OL, Stetson);
Corey Sutton (WR, Appalachian State); and
J.J. Weaver (LB, Kentucky).
Here’s a look at the inspiring stories of this week’s three honorees:
Alex Keith, a junior defensive lineman for Washington & Jefferson College, a Division III school in the Presidents Athletic Conference (PAC) missed the 2020-21 spring season with a lower back injury he suffered training for the season. The injury was a real blow to both Keith and the Presidents as he was coming off an impressive sophomore season in which he was honored as All-PAC Honorable Mention based upon his 54 tackles, 9.5 sacks and 4 fumble recoveries, including one he returned 52-yards for a touchdown versus Thiel. In this season’s opener, a 21-14 win at John Carroll, he stepped up with 8 tackles, 1.5 tackles for a loss (TFL) and 1 sack. Four weeks later, in a 24-20 win over Geneva, he posted a career-high 13 tackles. The 6-foot-2, 225-pound native of Hartville, Ohio has helped the team get off to a 6-0 record with 34 tackles, 5.5 TFL’s 2.5 sacks and a forced fumble.
Jeremiah Moon, a senior linebacker for the University of Florida suffered his third season-ending injury in the fourth game of the 2020 season, a foot injury that required surgery. Previously the native of Hoover, Ala. saw his 2019 season end after nine games and his 2016 freshman campaign end after just two games. But each time his season was cut short, the 6-foot-5, 250-pound linebacker put in the work to rehabilitate and improve. Moon chose to return for his sixth season despite graduating last Fall with a degree in Telecommunications. Due to an injury to teammate Ventrell Miller, he moved from his familiar outside linebacker position to middle linebacker. Through five games, he been more productive than ever, recording 32 tackles, 2.5 tackles for a loss, 1 sack, 3 QB hits and 1 pass defended. Off the field, he is currently working towards his Masters’ Degree in Sports Management and represents the Gators on the SEC Football Leadership Council.
Skylar Thompson, a senior quarterback for Kansas State University, suffered a season-ending injury to his throwing arm in the third week of the 2020 season versus Texas Tech. The timing of the injury, which required surgery, was especially painful as just one week earlier the native of Independence, Mo. led the Wildcats to a road win over Big 12 rival Oklahoma 38-35, by passing for 334 yards and a TD and rushing for three TDs. Rather than declare for the NFL Draft, the 6-foot-2, 220-pound signal caller chose to return for a sixth season in 2021. After starting the season with a win over Stanford, Thompson nearly saw his season come to an end after he was forced to leave the home opener on Sept 11 versus Southern Illinois with what appeared to be a season-ending right knee injury. Thankfully, the injury was not as serious as first thought and after missing just two games, Thompson made his comeback against Oklahoma, passing for 330 yards and 3 TDs.
Past winners of the Mayo Clinic Comeback Player of the Year Award have included:
2018 – Antwan Dixon (Kent State), Seth Simmer (Dartmouth), Antonio Wimbush (Carson-Newman);
2019 – Jake Luton (Oregon State), Drew Wilson (Georgia Southern), Octavion Wilson (Salisbury University);
2020 – Jarek Broussard (Colorado), Kenneth Horsey (Kentucky) and Silas Kelly (Coastal Carolina). For a complete list of past honorees and additional details on their remarkable comeback stories, visit
www.Comeback-Player.com; follow via Twitter at
@ComebackPlayrFB via the hashtag #MayoClinicCPOY; and on Instagram at
@Comeback_Player_CFB. Mayo Clinic does not have any role in selecting the nominees or winners of the award.
About Mayo Clinic: Mayo Clinic is a nonprofit organization committed to innovation in clinical practice, education and research, and providing compassion, expertise and answers to everyone who needs healing. Visit the Mayo Clinic News Network for additional Mayo Clinic news. For information on COVID-19, including Mayo Clinic's Coronavirus Map tracking tool, which has 14-day forecasting on COVID-19 trends, visit the Mayo Clinic COVID-19 Resource Center
About CoSIDA (College Sports Information Directors of America: CoSIDA was founded in 1957 and is a 3,000+ member national organization comprised of the sports public relations, media relations and communications/information professionals throughout all levels of collegiate athletics in the United States and Canada. The organization is the second oldest management association in intercollegiate athletics.
About Associated Press: The Associated Press is the essential global news network, delivering fast, unbiased news from every corner of the world to all media platforms and formats. Founded in 1846, AP today is the most trusted source of independent news and information. On any given day, more than half the world's population sees news from AP. On the web: www.ap.org.
About the Fiesta Bowl Organization: Since 1971, the Fiesta Bowl is a world-class community organization that executes innovative experiences, drives economic growth and champions charitable causes, inspiring pride in all Arizonans during and outside of college football bowl season. As a nonprofit organization, it is driven by its vision for the importance of community outreach and service. Through the PlayStation® Fiesta Bowl, Guaranteed Rate Bowl and its year-round events, such as the Desert Financial Fiesta Bowl Parade, corporate partnerships and numerous community events throughout the year, the organization provides charitable giving to enhance Arizona nonprofit organizations that serve communities through youth, sports and education. On the web: FiestaBowl.org
Media Contacts
Doug Drotman (doug@drotman-pr.com or 631-462-1198)
Doug Vance (dougvance@cosida.com or 785-691-7708)