Utah State Football Player Jake Doughty Semifinalist for Burlsworth Trophy

Utah State University football linebacker Jake Doughty is one of 10 semifinalists for the Burlsworth Trophy. The semifinalists were announced Tuesday, Nov. 19, by the Springdale (Ark.) Rotary Club. Fifty-three players were originally nominated for the award.

Overall, Doughty is the only player from the Mountain West Conference and the state of Utah to be listed among the 10 semifinalists.

The Burlsworth Trophy, now in its fourth year, is given annually to the most outstanding senior football player in America who began his career as a walk-on.

Doughty joins Jared Abbrederis (Wisconsin, wide receiver), Max Copeland (Missouri, guard), Justin Hardy (East Carolina, wide receiver), Spencer Long (Nebraska, guard), Cody Mandell (Alabama, punter), Baker Mayfied (Texas Tech, quarterback), Ryan Mueller (Kansas State, defensive end), Jack Tyler (Virginia Tech, linebacker) and Trey Watts (Tulsa, running back) on the list.

Fans are allowed to vote for their favorite player via the Fan Vote online. Fans are limited to one vote per day, and the voting will conclude Sunday, Nov. 24, at midnight CST. The Fan Vote counts as 5 percent during each round of voting, and it is combined with the results from the selection committee. Fan Vote totals are cleared after each round.

Doughty’s nomination marks the fourth time in as many years that a USU player has been nominated for The Burlsworth Award, joining safety McKade Brady (2012), wide receiver Eric Moats (2011) and defensive lineman Levi Koskan (2010).

Doughty, a 6-0, 234-pound senior linebacker from Draper, Utah, walked on the Utah State football team during his freshman season in 2009. As a redshirt freshman in 2010 he appeared in all 12 games with one start for the Aggies, and registered 22 tackles to go along with 1.0 tackle for loss.

Doughty was then awarded a scholarship prior to his sophomore season where he appeared in all 13 games and recorded 24 tackles to go along with 3.0 tackles for loss to rank ninth on the team.

As a junior, Doughty started all 13 games and earned first-team all-Western Athletic Conference honors after leading the team, ranking second in the league and tied for 71st in the nation with 109 tackles (8.4 pg). He also recorded 3.5 tackles for loss and 1.0 sack during the season, to go along with four pass breakups and three quarterback hurries.

Through 10 games during his senior season, Doughty leads the team with 108 total tackles, while ranking tied for second in tackles for loss (8.5), fourth in sacks (2.0), and tied for first in quarterback hurries (2), while recovering one fumble. Overall, he ranks third in the Mountain West and 10th in the nation with an average of 10.8 tackles per game.

For his career, Doughty ranks 19th all-time in school history with 265 tackles as he has 10 career double-digit tackle outings, including six this season.

The Burlsworth Trophy is named after Brandon Burlsworth who walked on to Arkansas’ football team in 1994 without one Division I scholarship offer. At Arkansas, Burlsworth worked his way to being a three-year starter and was eventually named an All-American in 1998. Burlsworth was selected as the 63rd overall pick by the Indianapolis Colts in the 1999 NFL draft, but was tragically killed in a car accident 11 days later. The Burlsworth Foundation was created in his memory and supports the physical and spiritual needs of children, in particular those children who have limited opportunities.

Utah State football returns to action Saturday, Nov. 23, when it hosts Colorado State in a Mountain West game at 1:30 p.m. (MT).

Contact: Contact: Doug Hoffman, USU Athletic Media Relations, (435) 797-3714