Illinois center Joe Spencer named semi-finalist for Campbell Trophy

Illinois center Joe Spencer received some recognition for his ongoing charitable efforts on Wednesday morning! The senior captain was named a semi-finalist for the 2016 Campbell Trophy by the National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame; the award recognizes the nation's best football scholar-athlete.

.@bigten Leads All Conferences with 10 Semifinalists for 2016 #CampbellTrophy https://t.co/UM7uWlFT7V

— Football Foundation (@NFFNetwork) September 28, 2016

Here are just a few of Spencer’s many off-field accomplishments at Illinois.

• Serves as president of the Illinois Uplifting Athletes chapter, which raises money for rare disease research and treatment
• Led the Illini's "Lift For Life," which raised over $21,000 for charity in 2016
• Organized student-athlete variety show that has raised more than $80,000 for charity in the last five years
• Leads the Illini's Thanksgiving Basket Program
• Spearheaded the Leadership Summit for local middle school students

Spencer is also on a watch list for the 2016 Rimington Trophy, which gets presented annually to the nation’s top center. The 6-foot-4 Ohio native has started 28 games during his career with the Orange and Blue, and more importantly, he recently set a program record for all-time rushing yards by a lineman (14). While that accomplishment isn’t exactly worthy of a Piesman Trophy nomination, I think it's safe to say that opposing defenses need to start preparing for him.