LOGAN, Utah – Utah State senior center
Quin Ficklin was announced as one of 10 semifinalists for the 2018 Burlsworth Trophy, given annually to the most outstanding FBS college football player who began his career as a walk-on.
The award is named for Brandon Burlsworth, who walked on at Arkansas in 1994, became a three-year starter and was eventually named an All-American in 1998.
Ficklin has started all 22 games of his Aggie career. The 6-foot-2, 300-pound native of Mesa, Ariz., transferred to Utah State from BYU prior to the start of the 2017 campaign.
"Quin is a great leader," said USU offensive line coach
Steve Farmer. "He has done a wonderful job and we have been very fortunate to have him come be a part of this program. He was a pleasant surprise, to be quite frank with you. He is a young man that transferred in as a walk on, and within a short time, it was obvious that he was going to be a leader on our team – both on and off the field – and a great player for us. It didn't take him very long to earn a scholarship."
Ficklin is one of two players from the Mountain West, along with Wyoming senior S Marcus Epps, and the only player from the Beehive State to be listed among the 10 semifinalists. He joins Clemson senior WR Hunter Renfrow, Michigan State junior DE Kenny Willekes, Minnesota senior LB Blake Cashman, North Carolina senior LB Cole Holcomb, Oklahoma junior WR Lee Morris, Oklahoma State senior QB Taylor Cornelius and Wisconsin senior LB Ryan Connelly.
The selection committee will announce the top three Burlsworth Trophy finalists on Tuesday, Nov. 13th. Finalists will be honored and the winner of the 2018 Burlsworth Trophy will be announced Monday, December 3rd, at 12:45 pm at a luncheon in Springdale, Ark., hosted by the Brandon Burlsworth Foundation, in conjunction with the Springdale Rotary Club.
Ficklin is the first Aggie to be named a Burlsworth Trophy semifinalist since linebacker Zach Vigil in 2014.
In his first season with the Aggies, Ficklin earned third-team all-Mountain West honors from Phil Steele's Magazine and honorable mention all-MW honors from the league's coaches after starting all 13 games at center. He had an overall performance grade of 93 percent in 2017, which ranked first on the team as he played in 911 snaps, which ranked first among offensive linemen.
Through the first nine games of his senior season, Ficklin has helped pave the way for a Utah State offense that ranks first in the Mountain West and second in the nation in scoring with an average of 50.1 points per game, trailing only Alabama (51.3 ppg). The Aggies, ranked 14th and 16th in this week's Associated Press and Amway Coaches polls, respectively, are also first in the league and 14th nationally in total offense, averaging 485.7 yards per game.
Prior to continuing his career at the next level, the son of Wade and Twila Ficklin earned Arizona Class 5A first-team all-state honors on the offensive line as a senior in 2011 at Red Mountain High School. Ficklin was also a first-team all-conference selection as he earned the Greg Bird Offensive Player of the Year Award.
The 2017 Burlsworth Trophy winner was Washington State quarterback Luke Falk, a former prep standout at Logan High School. A three-year starter for WSU, Falk broke the PAC-12 record for career passing yards during his senior season. He is now a member of the Miami Dolphins. The 2015 and 2016 winner was Heisman Trophy winner Baker Mayfield, who was the first pick in the 2018 NFL draft.
For more information about the Burlsworth Trophy, visit
http://burlsworthtrophy.com/.
Utah State (8-1, 5-0 MW) returns home to host San José State (1-8, 1-4 MW) on Saturday, Nov. 10, at 2 p.m., in the Aggies' annual Senior Day game on Merlin Olsen Field at Maverik Stadium. The game will be streamed live on Facebook.
For ticket information, fans can contact the USU Athletics
Ticket Office over the phone by calling 1-888-USTATE-1 or 435-797-0305 during regular hours of operation. Fans can also buy their tickets in person at the USU
Ticket Office inside the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum or online at www.UtahStateAggies.com.
BOWL ELIGIBLE
Utah State is bowl eligible for the seventh time in the last eight years. Sign up to receive bowl game and ticket updates at utahstateaggies.com/bowlgameinfo18.
Fans can follow the Aggie football program at twitter.com/USUFootball or on Facebook at Utah State Football, as well as on Instagram at instagram.com/USUFootball. Aggie fans can also follow the Utah State athletic program at twitter.com/USUAthletics or on Facebook at Utah State University Athletics.
