LOGAN, Utah – Four former Utah State football players were announced as members of the 2021 National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame (NFF) Hampshire Honor Society, it was announced Wednesday morning.
The 2021 class is comprised of college football players from all divisions of play who each maintained a cumulative 3.2 GPA or better throughout their college careers. A total of 910 players from 255 schools qualified for membership in the society’s 15th year.
Christopher Bartolic (Newport Beach, Calif./Corona del Mar HS/Orange Coast CC), Taylor Compton (Logan, Utah/Logan HS), Brandon Pada (Glendale, Ariz./Mountain Ridge HS) and Jake Pitcher (Smithfield, Utah/Sky View HS) were all recognized for their academic and athletic efforts.
The four Aggies were among 18 student-athletes from the Mountain West to make the list. USU and Wyoming led the way with four selections each, followed by Air Force and Boise State with three each. UNLV had two selections, and Nevada and San José State each had one selection.
Utah State led the Beehive State with its four selections, while Utah had two selections and BYU had one honoree.
Bartolic has a 3.23 grade point average and will graduate from Utah State this spring with a bachelor’s degree in interdisciplinary studies.
Compton (3.84 GPA) graduated from Utah State in the summer of 2020 with a bachelor’s degree in marketing with a minor in Spanish. He was a three-time academic all-Mountain West honoree (2018, 2019, 2020) and a two-time MW Scholar-Athlete (2018, 2019).
Pada (3.74 GPA) graduated from Utah State in the fall of 2020 with a bachelor’s degree in political science. He was a three-time academic all-Mountain West honoree (2018, 2019, 2020) and a two-time MW Scholar-Athlete (2018, 2019).
Pitcher (3.40 GPA) will graduate from Utah State this spring with a bachelor’s degree in English with a minor in physical education/coaching. He was a two-time academic all-Mountain West honoree (2019, 2020).
The NFF Hampshire Honor Society capitalizes on the NFF’s National Scholar-Athlete program by greatly expanding the number of scholar-athletes the NFF can recognize each year. The program further strengthens the organization’s leadership role in encouraging academic performance by the student-athletes at the 765 colleges and universities with football programs nationwide.
The initiative has now honored more than 13,000 student-athletes since its inception.
To qualify for the NFF Hampshire Honor Society, student-athletes must be in their final year of eligibility in 2020.
Qualifying student-athletes also must have maintained a 3.2 cumulative GPA throughout their entire course or undergraduate study, met all NCAA-mandated progress toward their degree requirements and been starters or significant contributors throughout the 2020 season.
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.
