FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Coastal Carolina football's Jairan Parker was named a Burlsworth Trophy nominee on Tuesday, Nov. 1, as the redshirt senior was one of 81 players nominated from Division 1 (FBS) schools from across the country for the 2022 Burlsworth Trophy.
 
In the award's 13th year, the trophy is named in honor of Brandon Burlsworth, former University of Arkansas Walk-On and All-American offensive lineman. Burlsworth's life is also the subject of a major motion picture, "GREATER", which was released in 2016. The Burlsworth Trophy is given to the most outstanding football player in America who began his career as a walk-on and has shown outstanding performance on the field. Each nominee must have begun his first season of participation with an FBS (D1) football program without financial aid of any kind from his university's athletic department.
 
Joining the team as a walk-on in the spring of 2022, Parker was named the Most Improved Outside Linebacker during the 2022 spring practice season.
 
This season, the spur linebacker has totaled 20 tackles, including 12 solo stops, while playing both special teams and on the defensive side of the ball. He has also recorded 3.0 tackles-for-loss and 1.0 sack, while also forcing a fumble and recovering another one.
 
Parker started his career as a walk-on at Missouri and was a member of the team for two years in 2017-18. He then transferred to Abilene Christian University where he recorded 58 tackles, 5.5 tackles-for-loss, two pass breakups, and two forced fumbles in two seasons from 2019-20, before transferring to Coastal Carolina as a regular student in the fall of 2021.
 
CCU's Parker joins a short list of nominees in the program's young FBS history in Ky'Jon Tyler (2018), Chandler Kryst (2019), Sam Thompson (2020), and CJ Schrimpf (2021), while Thompson was a semifinalist in 2020.
 
"All of these young men had the dream to play college football at the highest level", said Marty Burlsworth, President and CEO of the Burlsworth Trophy and older brother of Brandon Burlsworth. "And they had the work ethic and devotion to make that dream come true. They overcame the odds and achieved beyond others' expectations. That's what the Burlsworth Trophy is all about."
 
Without one D1 scholarship offer, Brandon Burlsworth walked on at the University of Arkansas in 1994. He became a three-year starter and was eventually named an All-American in 1998. Burlsworth was selected as the 63rd overall pick by the Indianapolis Colts in the 1999 NFL draft but was tragically killed in a car accident 11 days later. The Burlsworth Foundation was created in his memory and supports the physical and spiritual needs of children, in particular those children who have limited opportunities.
 
The Burlsworth Trophy award ceremony to honor the three finalists and to announce the 2022 winner will be on Dec. 5 at 8 p.m. ET at Crystal Bridges Museum in Bentonville, Arkansas.

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