December 8, 1997
For Immediate Release
Contact: Judy Willson, SID
505.562.4309 or 356-4755
(Portales, N.M.) --- Senior defensive end A.C. Cuellar left this morning for the bright lights of New York City. The Eastern New Mexico University outstanding scholar-athlete from Weslaco, Texas, will be a guest of the National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame, Inc. for the next few days. He will be attending the 40th Annual National Football Foundation Awards Dinner on Tuesday, December 9 at the Waldorf-Astoria at 6:45 pm (ET).
Cuellar, a 6-0, 235 lb. biology major, is a 1997 candidate for the Burger King Vincent Draddy Award. The award honors the top football scholar-athlete with a $25,000 scholarship. Burger King awards the recipient's university with a $100,000 donation to the school's general scholarship fund in the scholar-athlete's name. The winner will be announced during the annual awards dinner on Tuesday evening.
"Being a candidate for this award has made me realize that hard work in the classroom and on the field pays off. Just receiving the National Football Foundation scholarship will provide me with great opportunities in the future," said Cuellar.
Cuellar is one of 18 candidates for the top academic honor in college football. Among the 18 candidates are Heisman Trophy candidate Peyton Manning from the University of Tennessee, Penn State University linebacker Aaron Collins, University of Michigan quarterback Brian Griese, and University of Nebraska defensive end Grant Wistrom. Cuellar is one of three NCAA Division II candidates. The 18 candidates are already recipients of a post-graduate fellowship of $18,000 from the Foundation.
The divisional finalists for the 1997 Draddy Award will be announced at a media brunch on Tuesday, December 9 at 10:30 am (ET) at the Louis XVI Suite of the Waldorf-Astoria.