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Each year, only 12 students in the state of Utah receive the Scholar-Leader-Athlete award. This year, NS senior Connor Jorgensen was honored with this award, chosen from among hundreds of applicants.
The award is actually a scholarship that comes from The Utah Chapter of the National Football Foundation and College Football Hall of Fame. This scholarship is $2,000, and along with a scholarship, the students selected will be put into the Hall of Fame.
“I was super blown away when I got the email about it because it’s a fairly big deal,” Jorgensen said. “I was pretty pumped about it, seeing that there are twelve out of the state that get chosen for it, so I’m very happy about it. Not just the money about it but that I get [into the hall of fame].”
Jorgensen’s mom was also ecstatic when she heard the news.
“I was over the moon,” Julie Jorgensen said. “I was so happy that he got this award because it kind of intel’s more than just the athletic part. That as a parent always means a lot to you that the administration likes him as well as the coaches.”
Not only is Jorgensen’s family proud of his accomplishments in high school but also of him receiving this award, but his football coach and team are as well.
“We are super honored to have someone who was a part of our program to win an award like that, and to be able to be a scholar, a leader, and an athlete, and to compete with hundreds of athletes in the state and to win the award,” said football coach Rhett Bird.
Though the football team will miss having Jorgensen set an example of hard work on the field, they will also miss the example that he set with his actions on and off the field.
“We are going to miss the explosiveness, the big plays that he offered on the football field,” Bird said. “More so than that we are going to miss the genuine side of him, just him outside of football treating people right and building our culture as far as character goes.”
Jorgensen was one of the many seniors who set an example of working towards their goals. He set his goals then went straight to work on them whether it was on the field or off the field rehabbing from surgeries and the many injuries he had.
“He’s had a unique experience as far as his physical health.said Julie Jorgensen So I was really proud of him to still get a scholarship when it didn’t look like it was in the cards for him because of all his injuries. So he did what it took to still get looked at,” said Julie Jorgensen.
Jorgensen was only able to play three years of the four years he was in high school because of injury. During the years he could play he really made a big difference especially his junior and senior years.
In his last two years, Jorgensen put up some impressive stats. He had 1102 yards on 180 carries with 22 touchdowns. He made 56 receptions for 730 yards and 10 touchdowns. Defensively, he was a beast as he made 210 tackles with 8 sacks and 6 interceptions.
Not only did Jorgensen excel in football, school and in being a leader he always put in the extra work. In the application process, it was recommended to get letters of recommendation but it wasn’t required. Though it wasn’t required, Jorgensen did it anyway.
“To [apply] I got two letters of recommendation, one from Nan and one from Dave Peck, one of our football coaches. Those two played a big part, I believe, in me receiving this,” said Connor Jorgensen.
