April 27, 2009

Football: Brad Samsa Named to 2009 NFF Hampshire Honor Society

    Dallas, Texas – Former Youngstown State offensive lineman Brad Samsa (Warren, Ohio) was selected to the 2009 National Football Foundation Hampshire Honor Society, the National Football Foundation and College Football Hall of Fame announced on Monday.

    Samsa was one of an impressive group of 564 student-athletes from 266 schools who qualified for membership in the society's third year, an increase of more than 27 percent from the inaugural class in 2008. YSU's Tom Zetts, Bob Perez and Ryan Jewell have been previously selected to the NFF Honor Society the past two eyars.

    To be considered for the Honor Society, an individual must be a starter of significant substitute at an NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision or Championship Subdivision, Division II, Divistion III or an NAIA college of university; must achieve a 3.2 cumulative grade-point average throughout entire course of undergraduate study and meet all NCAA-mandated progress towards degree requirements.

    Samsa had a stellar career for YSU starting at center, guard and tackle during his tenure. Overall, he started the final 38 games in his career. In 2008, he started nine times at center before moving to right guard for the last three contests.
    In 2008, he played a team-high 751 snaps on the offensive line. For the season he graded out at 81 percent. He earned a grade of 83 percent or higher in five of the last six contests.

    He was named first-team all-conference in 2008 and 2007 while earning second-team accolades in 2006. Samsa was also a two-time Academic All-Conference Honorable-Mention selection. He has also been picked as an FCS Academic All-Star and was an academic all-conference selection.