Aug. 26, 2010
Overland Park, Kan. – Georgia Tech senior center Sean Bedford is one of 30 student-athletes selected as a candidate for the Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award in football. To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence – community, classroom, character and competition.
An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School®, the Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student-athlete and encourages students to use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact as leaders in their communities.
The 2010 candidate class includes 10 American Football Coaches Association Allstate Good Works Team® nominees. Nine of the 30 have maintained a cumulative grade point average of 3.5 or better. Five of the candidates were recognized by the College Sports Information Directors of America as 2009 Academic All-Americans, and 10 are members of teams ranked in the USA Today coaches preseason top 25 poll. Lowe’s, an official Corporate Partner of the NCAA, will announce the Senior CLASS Award® winner at the conclusion of the regular season.
The candidate class will be narrowed to 10 finalists midway through the regular season, and those 10 names will be placed on the official ballot. Ballots will be distributed through a nationwide voting system to media, coaches and fans, who will select one finalist who best exemplifies excellence in the four Cs of community, classroom, character and competition.
Bedford is an aerospace engineering major. Some of his classwork consists of designing jets for anti-submarine warfare, studying the way that fluid behaves in a supersonic domain, concentrating on characteristics of ramjets, turbojets, turbofans and possibly scramjets, as well as learning the means to control aircraft in various conditions, including controlling spacecraft.
In 2009 Bedford was honored as the first-team All-Atlantic Coast Conference center. He started his career at Georgia Tech as a walk-on and served on the scout team for two years before new coach Paul Johnson, who was impressed with Bedford’s work ethic, moved him from defense to offense and awarded him with a scholarship.
Bedford has been involved with several community programs, including serving as a Grand Marshall in the Special Olympics Opening Ceremonies the past three yeas, playing in and attending the BlazeSports Celebrity Wheelchair Basketball Tournament and attending special patient parties throughout the year at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta. Bedford has also assisted with HEROS Field Day, Twilight Cub Scout Camp, Chamblee Football Camp for elementary students and a dance marathon fundraiser that honored families going through Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta.
“The young men in our football candidate class are excellent examples of student-athletes who spend quality time helping improve their communities,” said Tom Lamb, Lowe’s senior vice president of marketing. “We are pleased to recognize them and excited to see what they accomplish during their senior seasons.”
Football 2010 Candidates
Name Position School
Sam Acho Defensive End University of Texas
Corey Adams Long Snapper Kansas State University
Sean Bedford Center Georgia Tech
Matthew Bosher Kicker/Punter University of Miami
Quinton Carter Defensive Back University of Oklahoma
Anthony Castonzo Offensive Tackle Boston College
Ben Chappell Quarterback Indiana University
Jake Coffman Defensive End Northern Illinois University
Ricky Dobbs Quarterback United States Naval Academy
Ras-I Dowling Cornerback University of Virginia
Derek Epperson Punter Baylor University
Kendall Hunter Running Back Oklahoma State
Tejay Johnson Safety TCU
Case Keenum Quarterback University of Houston
Ryan Kerrigan Defensive End Purdue University
Derrick Locke Tailback University of Kentucky
Jake Locker Quarterback University of Washington
Mike Mohamed Linebacker University of California
Chris Neild Defensive Line West Virginia University
Chima Nwachukwu Safety Washington State University
Cheta Ozougwu Defensive End Rice University
Christian Ponder Quarterback Florida State University
Ryan Pugh Center Auburn University
Reggie Rembert Defensive Back U.S. Air Force Academy
Derrell Smith Linebacker Syracuse University
Nate Solder Offensive Tackle University of Colorado
Zane Taylor Center University of Utah
Scott Tolzien Quarterback University of Wisconsin
Ryan Whalen Wide Receiver Stanford University
Stefen Wisniewski Guard Pennsylvania State University
