Jonathan Named a Semifinalist for the Witten Award
11/10/2021 2:29:00 PM | Football
Syracuse defensive end Kingsley Jonathan is one-of-20 semifinalists for the Jason Witten Man of the Year award, which recognizes outstanding leaders in college football.
Compiled by a subset of the Jason Witten Collegiate Man of the Year Selection Committee, the semifinalists have all demonstrated a record of leadership by exhibiting exceptional courage, integrity and sportsmanship both on and off the field.
Jonathan holds a bachelor's degree in information management and technology from the iSchool at Syracuse, and is currently pursuing a master's degree in instructional design, development and education. He was a CoSIDA Academic All-American last year and was the recipient of the ACC's Jim Tatum Award, presented to the top senior football student-athlete in the league. Jonathan decided to return for his additional year of eligibility this season after the NCAA granted eligibility relief to student-athletes whose seasons were impacted by COVID.
Jonathan has appeared in 55 games at Syracuse and has 15.5 career sacks and 23.5 tackles for loss. Â
He is a member of the Syracuse Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) Board and wrapped up a two-year term as one of the ACC's three representatives with voting privileges under the Division I autonomy process in 2020-21. Most recently, he was selected to represent ACC student-athletes on the search advisory committee for the next league commissioner, Jim Phillips.
Jonathan's community involvement includes participation in the 2019 Syracuse University OttoTHON Dance Marathon, which raised more than $200,000 for the Upstate Golisano Children's Hospital. He's volunteered at the annual Boys & Girls Club Field Day at Manley Field House and he is the founder of Hoodie Drive, a program he started in 2019 to collect hooded sweatshirts for less fortunate members of the Central New York community during the winter.
Personally, Jonathan overcame adversity in his life after coming to the United States from Nigeria to live with a host family in hopes of using his athletic attributes for a scholarship stateside. However, issues with his first host family led to high school eligibility issues and forced the teenager to move states and in with a second family over his three-year stint in the U.S. before college.
The full list of semifinalists includes: Grant Morgan (Arkansas), Brandon Martin (Ball State), James Empey (BYU), Elijah Hicks (California), Desmond Ridder (Cincinnati), Darien Rencher (Clemson), Jake Bobo (Duke), Vederian Lowe (Illinois), Skylar Thompson (Kansas State), Joshua Paschal (Kentucky), Tanner Morgan (Minnesota), Austin Williams (Mississippi State), Adrian Martinez (Nebraska), Patrick Fields (Oklahoma), Sean Clifford (Penn State), Nick Figueroa (Southern California), Kingsley Jonathan (Syracuse), Tony Bradford, Jr. (Texas Tech), Bryce Harris (Toledo) and Brock Hoffman (Virginia Tech).
Three finalists will be named for the award on Wednesday, December 15. The winner will be announced at the award ceremony in Frisco, Texas, on February 17, 2022.
Last year, Sam Ehlinger of Texas won the award. The first three Jason Witten Collegiate Man of the Year awards were presented to Shaquem Griffin of UCF in 2017, D'Cota Dixon of Wisconsin in 2018 and Trey Smith of Tennessee in 2019.              Â
The award, presented by Albertsons and Tom Thumb, is the first college football honor to focus primarily on a player's leadership, both on and off the field. Leadership is a term synonymous with Jason Witten, who, in addition to becoming one of the best tight ends in the history of the sport, served as one of football's most prominent role models during his 16-year pro career. In addition to winning the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award in 2012, Witten also received the Bart Starr Award, Pro Football Weekly's Humanitarian of the Year Award, Home Depot NFL Neighborhood MVP and the Bob Lilly Award, among many others. All of those honors have recognized his work in the community, achievements on the field and dedication to his teammates and family.
"It's my honor to announce this impressive group of young men as semifinalists for the fifth annual Collegiate Man of the Year," said Witten. "These student-athletes are perfect examples of what makes college football so great. They have demonstrated exceptional character and leadership, often while facing large challenges. They are great representatives for the game of football, and I commend all nominees for getting to this point."
The winner of the Jason Witten Collegiate Man of the Year will also receive a $10,000 contribution in his name to his school's athletic scholarship fund. The contribution will be made by Jason Witten's SCORE Foundation, the official charity of Jason and his wife Michelle. The SCORE Foundation, founded in 2007, has positively impacted tens of thousands of children and families in Texas and Tennessee over the last 14 years. The foundation operates its nationally-recognized SCOREkeepers program, which places trained male mentors on staff to work with children at family violence shelters, at nine shelters in the two states.
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Compiled by a subset of the Jason Witten Collegiate Man of the Year Selection Committee, the semifinalists have all demonstrated a record of leadership by exhibiting exceptional courage, integrity and sportsmanship both on and off the field.
Jonathan holds a bachelor's degree in information management and technology from the iSchool at Syracuse, and is currently pursuing a master's degree in instructional design, development and education. He was a CoSIDA Academic All-American last year and was the recipient of the ACC's Jim Tatum Award, presented to the top senior football student-athlete in the league. Jonathan decided to return for his additional year of eligibility this season after the NCAA granted eligibility relief to student-athletes whose seasons were impacted by COVID.
Jonathan has appeared in 55 games at Syracuse and has 15.5 career sacks and 23.5 tackles for loss. Â
He is a member of the Syracuse Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) Board and wrapped up a two-year term as one of the ACC's three representatives with voting privileges under the Division I autonomy process in 2020-21. Most recently, he was selected to represent ACC student-athletes on the search advisory committee for the next league commissioner, Jim Phillips.
Jonathan's community involvement includes participation in the 2019 Syracuse University OttoTHON Dance Marathon, which raised more than $200,000 for the Upstate Golisano Children's Hospital. He's volunteered at the annual Boys & Girls Club Field Day at Manley Field House and he is the founder of Hoodie Drive, a program he started in 2019 to collect hooded sweatshirts for less fortunate members of the Central New York community during the winter.
Personally, Jonathan overcame adversity in his life after coming to the United States from Nigeria to live with a host family in hopes of using his athletic attributes for a scholarship stateside. However, issues with his first host family led to high school eligibility issues and forced the teenager to move states and in with a second family over his three-year stint in the U.S. before college.
The full list of semifinalists includes: Grant Morgan (Arkansas), Brandon Martin (Ball State), James Empey (BYU), Elijah Hicks (California), Desmond Ridder (Cincinnati), Darien Rencher (Clemson), Jake Bobo (Duke), Vederian Lowe (Illinois), Skylar Thompson (Kansas State), Joshua Paschal (Kentucky), Tanner Morgan (Minnesota), Austin Williams (Mississippi State), Adrian Martinez (Nebraska), Patrick Fields (Oklahoma), Sean Clifford (Penn State), Nick Figueroa (Southern California), Kingsley Jonathan (Syracuse), Tony Bradford, Jr. (Texas Tech), Bryce Harris (Toledo) and Brock Hoffman (Virginia Tech).
Three finalists will be named for the award on Wednesday, December 15. The winner will be announced at the award ceremony in Frisco, Texas, on February 17, 2022.
Last year, Sam Ehlinger of Texas won the award. The first three Jason Witten Collegiate Man of the Year awards were presented to Shaquem Griffin of UCF in 2017, D'Cota Dixon of Wisconsin in 2018 and Trey Smith of Tennessee in 2019.              Â
The award, presented by Albertsons and Tom Thumb, is the first college football honor to focus primarily on a player's leadership, both on and off the field. Leadership is a term synonymous with Jason Witten, who, in addition to becoming one of the best tight ends in the history of the sport, served as one of football's most prominent role models during his 16-year pro career. In addition to winning the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award in 2012, Witten also received the Bart Starr Award, Pro Football Weekly's Humanitarian of the Year Award, Home Depot NFL Neighborhood MVP and the Bob Lilly Award, among many others. All of those honors have recognized his work in the community, achievements on the field and dedication to his teammates and family.
"It's my honor to announce this impressive group of young men as semifinalists for the fifth annual Collegiate Man of the Year," said Witten. "These student-athletes are perfect examples of what makes college football so great. They have demonstrated exceptional character and leadership, often while facing large challenges. They are great representatives for the game of football, and I commend all nominees for getting to this point."
The winner of the Jason Witten Collegiate Man of the Year will also receive a $10,000 contribution in his name to his school's athletic scholarship fund. The contribution will be made by Jason Witten's SCORE Foundation, the official charity of Jason and his wife Michelle. The SCORE Foundation, founded in 2007, has positively impacted tens of thousands of children and families in Texas and Tennessee over the last 14 years. The foundation operates its nationally-recognized SCOREkeepers program, which places trained male mentors on staff to work with children at family violence shelters, at nine shelters in the two states.
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