Toledo, Ohio – Toledo senior wide receiver Cody Thompson (Huron, Ohio) was officially nominated for the 2017 Wuerffel Trophy today.

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, Fla. The award is named after Danny Wuerffel, the 1996 Heisman Trophy winning quarterback from the University of Florida. It is awarded to the Football Bowl Subdivision player who best combines exemplary community service with athletic and academic achievement. 

Thompson was leading the Mid-American Conference in receiving when he suffered a season-ending injury vs. Eastern Michigan on Oct. 14. He was a first-team All-MAC selection in 2016. He caught 64 passes for a school-record 1,269 yards and 11 touchdowns. He was ninth in the nation with 19.8 yards per reception.

In addition to the Wuerffel Trophy, Thompson is a nominee for four other national honors: the 2017 Allstate AFCA Good Works Team, the Campbell Trophy, the Jason Witten Collegiate Man of the Year and the NCAA Senior Class Award.

Thompson, who earned Academic All-MAC honors in 2016, is a marketing major with a 3.664 grade point average. He has volunteered for numerous community activities and organizations, including the Toledo Boys and Girls Club, Ronald McDonald House, Cherry Street Mission, RockeThon for Mercy Children's Hospital, Kids Day at the Glass City Marathon, Rocket Football Victory Day, the Toledo Crash wheelchair football team, and many others.

Semifinalists for the award will be announced on Nov. 2 and finalists will be announced on Nov. 22.  The formal announcement of the 2017 recipient will be on Dec. 5 at the National Football Foundation's press conference in New York City. The presentation of the 2017 Wuerffel Trophy will occur at the 49th Annual All Sports Association Awards Banquet on Feb. 16, 2018 in Fort Walton Beach, Florida.

Past winners of the Wuerffel Trophy are:  Rudy Niswanger (LSU-2005), Joel Penton (Ohio State-2006), Paul Smith (Tulsa-2007), Tim Tebow (Florida-2008), Tim Hiller (W. Michigan-2009), Sam Acho (Texas-2010), Barrett Jones (Alabama-2011), Matt Barkley (USC-2012), Gabe Ikard (Oklahoma-2013), Deterrian Shackelford (Ole Miss-2014), Ty Darlington (Oklahoma-2015) and Trevor Knight (Texas A&M-2016).