University of Tennessee Athletics
Michael Munoz Named National Football Foundtation Scholar-Athlete
November 01, 2004 | Football
Nov. 1, 2004
University of Tennessee offensive tackle Michael Munoz has been named one of eight Division I-A 2004 national scholar-athletes as selected by the National Football Foundation. He will be honored at the Foundation's 47th annual awards dinner at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City Dec. 7. He joins College Football Hall of Fame selection Frank Emanuel (1963-65) as honorees with Tennessee ties.
"It's very hard to balance academics and athletics," Munoz said. "It's something you have to do in order to play. You love playing football so you know you have to take care of business. You work hard and hope something like that happens at the end. It's humbling and I'm excited about the opportunity."
A senior from Mason, Ohio, Munoz has started seven of eight games this season, with 44 starts for his career, missing the Oct. 30 43-29 win over South Carolina this season with an injury. He was named Academic All-SEC in 2002 and 2003 and has served as a co-captain in 2003 and 2004.
"It's a wonderful honor for Michael and his family," head coach Phillip Fulmer said. "We're very proud of him. To get recognized as one of the best in the country, is a real honor."
Joining Munoz as Division honorees are William Bajerma of Oklahoma State, Jeffrey Berk of West Virginia, Trenton Franz of Wyoming, David Greene of Georgia, Josh Haldi of Northern Illinois, James Leonhard of Wisconsin, and Bryan Randall of Virginia Tech. There are total of 15 honorees from all divisions.
"We are pleased to have the opportunity to recognize college football's best and brightest with these prestigious post-graduate scholarships," said Foundation Chairman Jon F. Hanson. "These young men have set the standard at their institution for all future student-athletes to follow, and we salute them for their dedication in becoming standouts on the gridiron, in the classroom and in their communities."
Each scholar-athlete receives an $18,000 post-graduate scholarship, and the evening of Dec. 7, one of them will receive the Draddy Trophy as the top scholar-athlete in the nation, increasing the scholarship to $25,000.
Munoz joins five other Vols who have been named national scholar-athletes by the College Football Hall of Fame: Neyle Sollee (1959), Bob Johnson (1967), Don Denbo (1970), Mike Mauck (1976) and Peyton Manning (1997).
To be eligible for a National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame post-graduate fellowship, the nominee must be a senior or graduate student in his final year of eligibility, have a grade point average of at least 3.0 on a 4.0 scale, have shown superior academic application and performance, have outstanding football ability as a first team player, and have demonstrated strong leadership and citizenship.
