ROCK HILL, S.C. --- For a third straight season, Tusculum College tight end Jarrell NeSmith has been named the 2009 South Atlantic Conference Scholar Athlete for Foo tball announced league officials Monday.

NeSmith, a 6-2, 225-pound senior from Russellville, Ala., becomes the first three-time recipient of this award in conference history. It also marks the fifth straight year that a Tusculum player has earned this honor and seventh in the last eight seasons.

NeSmith is closing out one of the most decorated football careers in Tusculum history, both on and off the field. The Pre-Medicine major has a 3.86 cumulative grade point average and is a member of the Tusculum President's List, Dean's List, Charles Oliver Gray List, South Atlantic Conference Commissioner's Honor Roll and the TC Athletic Director's Honor Roll.

On the field, he is a two-time All-SAC First Team selection, including this year where he leads the league in receiving yards per game, averaging 67.8 yards per contest. NeSmith has posted 56 catches for 678 yards (5th in TC history) and three touchdowns.

He earned All-America honors in 2008 from three organizations as he posted 67 receptions for 635 yards and seven touchdowns and was also an All-Conference and All-Region selection.

NeSmith has wrapped up his career with 158 receptions (3rd in TC history) for 1,670 yards (4th in TC history), both school records for a tight end.

He was selected as the 2008-09 recipient SAC Presidents Award, becoming only the second football player in the history of the award to earn the conference's most prestigious honor.

NeSmith was also honored by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA), earning a spot on the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America® Football Second Team.

Last month, he was named as one of the 16 national finalists for the William V. Campbell Trophy. He is the only NCAA Division II representative on the 2009 National Football Foundation National Scholar-Athlete Team, which includes Heisman Trophy candidates Tim Tebow (Florida) and Colt McCoy (Texas).

Earlier this fall, he was also a Southeast Region representative for the 2008-09 Division II Commissioner's Scholar Athlete Award and was a national semifinalist for the American Football Coaches Association's Good Works Team.

In the community, NeSmith has volunteered with Habitat for Humanity, Adopt-a-Highway and Drug Awareness program at Holston Homes for Children in Greeneville, Tenn. He also volunteers with the Lunch Buddies program at Doak Elementary School, which provides mentoring relationships between the Tusculum football players and the school children. He has spoken to youth and high school students on the importance of education and college life at South Greene High School and the Chucky Mullins Center.

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