North Carolina's Marvin Austin (Ballou/Washington D.C.)

As part of an on-going series throughout the fall, The National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame follows the graduates of its Play It Smart program as they make their mark on the college gridiron.

Vincent Rey (Bayside/Queens, NY) Jabari Marshall (Benjamin Mays/Atlanta, GA) combined for 14 tackles to lead the Duke defense, but it wasn’t enough as the Blue Devils were shut out by Georgia Tech 27-0.

Antone Smith (Pahokee/Pahokee, FL) rushed for a career-high four touchdowns as Florida State held on to be Miami 41-39. True freshman wideout/returner Travis Benjamin (Glades Central/Belle Glade, FL) was spectacular for the Canes, posting 274 all-purpose yards and two touchdowns.

Defensive lineman Marvin Austin (Ballou/Washington, DC) returned an interception 23 yards for the first touchdown of his career as North Carolina defeated No. 24 UConn 38-12.

Illinois earned a 45-20 victory at Michigan behind another solid performance (188 all-purpose yards) from sophomore returner/wideout Arrelious Benn (Dunbar/Washington, DC). Vontae Davis (Dunbar/Washington, DC) lead the Illini defense with nine tackles, two tackles for loss and a forced fumble.

Antonio Jones (Lincoln/Dallas, TX) registered 6 tackles for Baylor in their 49-17 loss to No. 1 Oklahoma.

Anthony Leonard (McKeesport/McKeesport, PA) and Sidney Glover (Warren G. Harding/Warren, OH) combined for 17 total tackles to lead West Virginia in their 24-17 win over Rutgers.

Bryan Williams (Akron Buchtel/Akron, OH) and Al-Teric Balaam (New Brunswick/New Brunswick, NJ) combined for nine tackles in Akron’s 30-27 double overtime win over Kent State. Williams also gained 69 yards on two touches.

Amara Kamara (Weequahic/Newark, NJ) notched five tackles and one sack in Temple’s 28-10 win over Miami-Ohio.

In a valiant effort Northern Illinois fell to Tennessee 13-9. Bradley Pruitt (Hyde Park/Chicago, IL) notched six tackles in the near upset. Dennis Rogan(Fulton/Knoxville, TN) had four tackles in the win.

Anthony Wright (Maple Heights/Maple Heights, OH) had three tackles and forced a fumble as the Air Force Academy fell to the Naval Academy 33-27.

Junior wide out Nyan Boateng (Abraham Lincoln/Brooklyn, NY) grabbed three passes for 51 yards and one score as Cal downed Arizona State 24-14. Cameron Jordan (Chandler/Chandler, AZ) chipped in eight tackles and two sacks in the win. Sean Cattouse (Hubbard/Richmond, VA) picked off a passes, deflected a pass, and recorded two tackles in the conference victory.
High School teammates Keenan Lewis and Dennis Christopher (O. Perry Walker/New Orleans, LA) combined for four tackles as Oregon State nearly knocked off BYU, but the Beavers fell just short losing 31-28.

Senior wide out Terrance Austin (Long Beach Poly/Long Beach, CA) lead all UCLA receivers with seven receptions for 77 yards in UCLA’s 28-3 victory over Washington State.

Javier Arenas (Robinson/Tampa, FL) recorded six tackles and gained 52 yards on four touches (returns. as Alabama defeated Kentucky 17-14.

In an SEC collision Ole Miss fell to South Carolina 31-24. Mike Davis (Columbia/Columbia, SC) carried the ball 19 times for 73 yards. For the Rebels Mike Wallace (O. Perry Walker/New Orleans, LA) gained 186 yards on 11 touches. Former high school teammate Kendrick Lewis notched six tackles in the loss.

Yale work horse Mike McLeod (New Britain/New Britain, CT) rushed for 131 yards and one touchdown on 39 carries in a 31-28 double overtime win over Holy Cross.

DeMarcus Watts (Grady/Atlanta, GA) caught three passes for 51 yards in Georgia Southern’s 52-28 win over Chattanooga. Marc Thomas (Hillsborough/Tampa, FL) added six tackles for the Eagles in the win
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With major financial support from the NFL and the NFL Players Association, and a broad-coalition of corporations, communities, individuals and organizations, the program has quickly become one of the most comprehensive and effective youth mentoring programs, achieving dramatic results that include:

• 95% of seniors graduating high school, compared to 76% of their peers;



• 80% of seniors enrolling in college compared to 63% of their peers;



• Participants completing more than 55,000 service hours annually;



• Participants earning more than $8 million a year in scholarships; and



• 270-plus graduates earning places among the elite collegiate ranks during the 2008 season on Football Bowl and Championship Subdivision rosters.

Prominent alumni include Ohio State’s Ted Ginn, Jr. (Miami Dolphins), Rutgers’ Ray Rice (Baltimore Ravens), California’s Desean Jackson (Philadelphia Eagles), Miami’s Leon Williams (Cleveland Browns), LSU’s Craig Davis (San Diego Chargers) and Super Bowl champion Jay Alford, who attended Penn State, and currently plays with the World Champion New York Giants.
Play It Smart builds on the positive peer influences of team sports and a participant's interest in football. The program's academic coaches are trained in a set of guiding principles and a variety of tactics, which are designed to make academic achievement the norm. Working closely with the direct support of a team's head coach and others in the community, academic coaches hold one-on-one goal setting meetings, career and life skills sessions, mandatory study halls, SAT/ACT prep classes, community service projects and other team building events.

ABOUT PLAY IT SMART
Play It Smart is an educational program established in 1998 by The National Football Foundation. The program's mission is to help student-athletes take responsibility for their futures through lessons learned on the playing field, in the classroom, and in service to others. At the heart of the program is a year-round academic coach, an official member of a team's staff, who serves as a direct link to the classroom by helping players and the team set and achieve their academic and personal development goals during the entire school year. Learn more at www.PlayItSmart.org.

ABOUT THE NATIONAL FOOTBALL FOUNDATION & COLLEGE HALL OF FAME:
With 120 chapters and 12,000 members nationwide, The National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame, a non-profit educational organization, runs programs designed to use the power of amateur football in developing scholarship, citizenship and athletic achievement in young people. The NFF presents the MacArthur Trophy, the Draddy Trophy and releases the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) Standings. NFF programs include the College Football Hall of Fame in South Bend, Ind., Play It Smart, and scholarships of over $1 million for college and high school scholar-athletes. Learn more at www.footballfoundation.org.