TAMPA, FLA., Nov. 21, 2025 – USF Football wide receiver Christian Helms has been named the recipient of the Freddie Solomon Community Spirit Award presented by Premier Players Sports Foundation.

The award honors college football players who exemplify the values that defined Freddie Solomon: character, leadership, and an unwavering commitment to serving others. The Premier Players Sports Foundation and the Solomon Family are proud to uplift athletes who use their platform to make a difference on and off the fields. Notre Dame’s Aamil Wagner and Kentucky’s Josh Kattus were this year’s other finalists.

“Every year our family is so honored to read about the great plays young people are making on and off the field,” said Dee Solomon, wife of the late Freddie Solomon, an All-American at the University of Tampa and two-time NFL Super Bowl Champion. “It has been a great tradition for our family to come together in remembrance of Freddie and just know how proud he would be of these young men.”

Helms, also on the Allstate Wuerffel Trophy watch list and nominated to the Allstate AFCA Good Works Team, embodies the spirit of the award. He is an athlete whose character, leadership, and service define him just as much as his on-field contributions. A Tampa native and former walk-on who earned a scholarship through relentless effort, Helms has appeared in 28 games over the past three seasons and emerged as one of the most respected leaders on the team.

Helms, who has been a special teams stalwart the last three seasons seeing action in more than 30 games, earned CSC Academic All-District honors and Hampshire Honor Society recognition. He is actively involved in numerous community service engagements, including advocacy and promoting awareness of organ donations through LifeLink. Among the many community service groups he has participated in supporting are Special Olympics, Habitat for Humanity, Parkinson’s Moving Day, Children’s Cancer Center and Pasco County Animal Services. He has also volunteered as a youth football coach among several community activities.

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Let’s go, Buffs fans! Coach Prime has done it again! Deion Sanders has been voted the 2024 Premier Coach of College Football, making him the first-ever two-time award winner. Fans first crowned him in 2022 for his legendary work with the Jackson State Tigers, and now he’s brought that magic to Boulder.

We all knew it would be a journey when Coach Prime took the reins at Colorado. The Buffs’ 2023 season was a rebuild in every sense, with Prime navigating the ever-changing landscape of college football—conference realignment, NIL deals, and the transfer portal’s wild ride.

But 2024? Oh, man. This was the year we all had circled. And Prime didn’t just meet expectations; he shattered them! The Buffs roared to a 9-3 record, a stunning turnaround after winning only four games the previous season. That’s right—Prime more than doubled the win total with just one full recruiting cycle.

It’s not just about bringing in star players (which he does effortlessly). It’s about building a team that can go toe-to-toe with the best. Colorado didn’t just compete in the Big 12—they were right there in the mix, finishing in a four-way tie for the top spot. A heartbreaking November loss to Kansas and tie-breaker rules kept them out of the title game, but don’t let that overshadow what this team accomplished.

And we have to talk about Travis Hunter. Prime knew precisely how to unleash his two-way superstar. Offense, defense—Hunter did it all, and he did it at a level we’ll be talking about for years.

How about that statement win to close the season? Colorado demolished Oklahoma State 52-0 in a game that screamed, “We’re just getting started!” Now, the Buffs are gearing up for the Alamo Bowl against BYU. A win there would give Colorado fans ten wins for the first time since 2016. Ten wins!

Coach Prime has brought the swagger, energy, and results. He’s turned Boulder into a football destination, and every fan can feel it. That makes him a fan favorite each year.

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Football fans voted Travis Hunter of the Colorado Buffaloes the 2024 Premier Player of College Football Award winner, and it’s safe to say that they had not seen anything like him at the FBS level in decades.  Hunter isn’t just a player; he’s a phenomenon.

Sure, plenty of high school athletes thrive on both sides of the ball, but to translate that into dominance at the Power 5 level, in a conference as tough as the Big 12? That’s practically unheard of in modern college football. And yet, Hunter has done just that, redefining what’s possible for a college athlete.

Hunter was the heart and soul of Colorado’s team this season, playing every snap on both offense and defense. His insane fitness, relentless dedication, and unparalleled football IQ allowed him to perform at an elite level on both sides of the ball—a feat we might never see again. As a wide receiver, he posted jaw-dropping numbers: 92 receptions, 1,152 yards, and 15 total touchdowns. But that’s not all. On defense, the Suwanee, Georgia native was equally dominant, racking up 32 tackles, seven pass breakups, and four interceptions—all while rarely being targeted because opposing quarterbacks knew better than to test his cornerback skills.

Hunter isn’t just good at both positions—he’s elite. He’s an All-American on both sides of the ball, a weapon so versatile that he became head coach Deion Sanders’ ultimate chess piece.  In the season’s first three games, he hauled in 30 catches for nearly 350 yards and five touchdowns, including a legendary performance against Colorado State. With the Buffs needing a win to avoid a 1-2 start after a tough loss to Nebraska, Hunter put the team on his back with 13 receptions, leading Colorado to a pivotal 28-9 victory.

Even in adversity, Hunter shone. Take the Kansas game—one of Colorado’s toughest losses of the year. Despite falling 37-21, Hunter racked up eight catches for 125 yards and two touchdowns, proving once again why he’s the most dynamic player in college football. He followed that with a monster game in the regular-season finale against Oklahoma State, torching the Cowboys with 10 catches for 116 yards and three touchdowns in a 52-0 rout.

Hunter’s brilliance propelled Colorado to new heights under Coach Prime.  The Buffs finished the regular season tied for the top spot in the Big 12, though tiebreakers kept them out of the championship game. With an Alamo Bowl matchup against BYU on deck, Colorado has a chance to secure its first double-digit win season since 2016.  If Hunter has anything to say about it, expect fireworks in San Antonio.

Travis Hunter is a unicorn—a player so unique that we may never see another like him.  He has given fans a season to remember, and in return, the fans voted him the 2024 Premier Player of College Football.

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Kentucky graduate and outside linebacker J.J. Weaver has been named the winner of the 12^th annual Freddie Solomon Community Spirit Award, announced by the Premier Players Sports Foundation on Tuesday. Named in honor of “Fabulous Freddie” Solomon, a University of Tampa standout and Super Bowl champion with the San Francisco 49ers, the award celebrates athletes who embody Solomon’s legacy of giving back.

After a stellar career at Tampa, Solomon spent 11 years in the NFL, playing three seasons with the Miami Dolphins before joining the San Francisco 49ers where he was a part of two Super Bowl championships. After his pro career, the Sumter, South Carolina native, returned to Hillsborough County to make a more lasting impact. Solomon devoted the next 12 years of his life to the youth of Tampa Bay, working with the sheriff’s department to teach kids life lessons through football. His efforts impacted more than two decades of youth, before his passing in 2012. His lessons are still carried on in the community.

Weaver was nominated for this award because of his passion for giving back, specifically focusing on mental health and children’s grief.

Born with polydactyly, a condition in which a person has more than five fingers or toes on one, or on each, hand or foot, Weaver has had to face many obstacles in his lifetime. With six fingers on his right hand, he was bullied and ridiculed in grade school for being different. But that obstacle was nothing compared to what he was about to face during his collegiate years.

From July 2020 to August 2021, Weaver lost his father to homicide, sustained a season-ending knee injury, and then lost his beloved high school football coach to cancer.

Grief and anger started taking over his life and it became noticeable to those who knew him best. After being confronted by then-head athletic trainer Gabe Amponsah and a timely heart-to-heart talk with head coach Mark Stoops, who could relate after losing his father to a heart attack in college, Weaver agreed that counseling would help. And boy, did it ever. Inspired by the help he received, Weaver has become an outspoken advocate for mental health and counseling. In the fall of 2023, with help from the Kentucky Center for Grieving Children and Families, he launched an 8-week peer-led grief counseling group on UK’s campus, the first of its kind at UK called “The Perfect Fit Support Group.”

With Weaver’s help, “The Perfect Fit Support Group” received a $40,000 grant by Women in Philanthropy and is now available to all students on UK’s campus. It is now known as “LINC” or “Loss Inspiring New Connections.”

This spring, Weaver attended the “Supporting Children and Teens Through Loss” event at the Kentucky Center for Grieving Children and Families, where he spoke to the group about going through grief and participated in a drum circle with the children. In June, he attended the 2024 Annual Symposium on Children’s Grief in Denver, Colorado hosted by the National Alliance for Children’s Grief. He shared his story and the work he’s doing on UK’s campus.

“I was like, man, I want to start something different,” Weaver said during a 2023 CBS video feature. “At first, I wanted to just start in the football facility to see. We’re men, but we still have feelings at the end of the day. We’re still grieving. We’re still going through things, and it’s OK to talk to somebody about what you’re going through.”

Through his unwavering dedication to service and mental health advocacy, Weaver has used his challenges as fuel to make a profound difference in the lives of others,  says Carnell Moore, founder of the Premier Players Sports Foundation.  He’s done many community service events, including hosting free football camps, back-to-school drives, diversity talks, and two bike drives.

Weaver, a native of Louisville, Kentucky, is a three-year team captain, joining Joshua Paschal and DeAndre Square as the only three-time team captains in school history. He graduated in December of 2023 with a degree in community leadership and development. He currently is working on a second degree in family science with a minor in communication.

In nine games played this season, he has totaled 26 tackles and leads the team in sacks (5.0) and quarterback hurries (6). He also has 6.5 tackles for loss, a forced fumble, and a pass breakup.

He currently ranks third at UK in career tackles for loss (38.5) and is fourth in sacks all-time (21.5).

Weaver is also on the watch lists for the Capital One Orange Bowl-FWAA Courage Award, the Jason Witten Collegiate Man of the Year (semifinalist), and the Allstate Wuerffel Trophy (semifinalist).

Additionally, he was selected to the Allstate AFCA Good Works Team and recently received the Kentucky Pro Football Hall of Fame’s 2024 Ron Butler Character in Adversity Award.  Article from UK Athletics Communications.

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After leading his Washington Huskies to an undefeated season, quarterback Michael Penix Jr. has been named the 2023 Premier Player of College Football Award winner.

It has been a long, long road for Penix. The fact that he is a sixth-year senior should give some clues about his college career and the adversity he has faced in reaching this level of play. Penix committed to Indiana after a successful two-year starting gig as quarterback of Tampa Bay Technical High School He threw for over 4,200 yards and had 61 touchdowns with the Titans, and he was advanced enough as a passer that he earned playing time as a true freshman with the Hoosiers in 2018.

Penix played in just three games before a torn ACL ended his true freshman season. He would also sustain a torn ACL in 2020 while additionally suffering AC and SC injuries in Bloomington. Penix played in just 20 games in four seasons with Indiana before transferring to Washington in a move that could not have worked out better for either party.

Penix had to move west to Blossom, and the first step was to remove the label of ‘injury prone’ that had been affixed to the quarterback during his time in the Big Ten. At 6-foot-3 and 213 pounds, Penix has the frame to absorb contact. This led to him being somewhat miscast at Indiana, taking too many hits behind an offensive line that wasn’t close to the standard of the wall he stands behind in Seattle.

Thanks to this incredible line play – and a changed mindset of treating every play like it could be his last and striving to succeed – Penix has played at a level not even the Washington coaching staff could have imagined when he walked into Husky Stadium.  In 2023, he led the Huskies to an undefeated regular season and a win over the Oregon Ducks in the (likely) final Pac-12 Championship Game.

That 13-0 record is the best in school history, with Penix making the offensive tick thanks to his cannon of an arm. He has a trio of outstanding wide receivers in Rome Odunze, Ja’Lynn Polk, and Jalen McMillan, players he has combined to throw for 4,218 yards and 33 touchdowns on the season. Penix also has an adjusted completion percentage of 74.7 percent, which shows how accurate he is when given time to pick apart a defense.

The West Coast is typically overlooked for major college football awards. Michael Penix Jr. has been so dominant that he was the clear choice as the 2023 Premier Player of College Football award winner.

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The 2023 Premier Coach of College Football Award Winner is Steve Sarkisian of the University of Texas Longhorns.

In college football, there are easy jobs, there are hard jobs, and then there is the job in Austin coaching the Longhorns. On the surface, the Texas job has everything going for it. Austin is a cool, youthful city, with plenty of money available through boosters and a fanbase/recruiting network that stretches from coast to coast. Add in the standard of high school football in Texas and the recruiting opportunities on the university’s doorstep, and you have what seems like an ideal job.

Those benefits, however, come with additional pressures that you just don’t get in other jobs. The boosters and fans demand success at Texas, and success to them is competing for a national championship year after year. That has not been the case, with Texas last having played for the national title 14 years ago. The university had become a meme.

Steve Sarkisian changed all that.

Sark cut his teeth with USC and the Oakland Raiders before his first head coaching gig when he took over (ironically) at CFP opponents Washinton before the 2009 season. He went 34-29 with the Huskies before taking the head coaching gig at USC in a role that didn’t work out. After spending time refining his coaching philosophy – most notably at Alabama – Sarkisian took the Texas job before the 2021 season with the program in disarray.

His first year was tough, and the jokes continued. The Longhorns finished 5-7 and 3-6 in Big 12 play. Improvement was stary in 2022, with Texas finishing 8-5 and flipping their Big 12 record to 6-3. Even so, the jump between Year 2 and Year 3 was shocking.

This season, the Longhorns won the Big 2 with an 8-1 record in conference and a 12-1 record overall. This included a shocking 34-24 win over eventual SEC champions Alabama in the Longhorns second game of the season. The win – in Tuscaloosa, no less – was the proof that Texas had arrived and that Sarkisian was doing great things with the Longhorns program.

A move to the SEC awaits, but Steve Sarkisian is the obvious choice as the 2023 Premier Coach of College Football Award Winner because took a dying program and turned it into a national title contender.

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After leading the Baltimore Ravens to a 13-4 record (the best in the NFL), the No. 1 seed in the AFC playoffs, quarterback Lamar Jackson has been named the 2023 Premier Player of Pro Football Award winner.

This fan nod makes Jackson the first-ever two-time Premier Player of Pro Football Award winner. The Ravens quarterback won the first-ever edition of the award in 2019 when Premier Players began to acknowledge pro players for their performance alongside its longer-standing college award. Jackson – still just 27 years old – will be a contender for this award for years to come if he can put together more seasons like he did in 2023.

Jackson is the ultimate version of the modern-day NFL quarterback. Jackson isn’t your typical pocket passer – though he has certainly worked to improve that part of his game. Instead, he is an ultra-athletic, ultra-mobile passer who is a threat to score with his arm – or his feet – from anywhere on the field.

Jackson’s biggest strength is his versatility. It is almost impossible to game plan for Jackson at his best, as the 6-foot-2, 215-pounder can glide through defenses with his legs when he pulls down the ball. Defenses try to spy on Jackson, but he is too fast. They try to take away his receivers, but he is too accurate. The dimension his skillset adds to an attack is unlike any other player in the league.

Jackson set several career-high marks in 2023. That took some doing because he already has a league MVP trophy to his name. His 67.2 perfect completion percentage shows the time and study Jackson has put into reading NFL defenses and working through his reads. His 3,678 passing yards (also a career-high) show his want and ability to push the ball down the field. Add in Jackson’s rushing numbers, and the Ravens quarterback accounted for just under 4,500 yards of total offense and 29 touchdowns.

Naming Lamar Jackson as the 2023 Premier Player of Pro Football Award winner was the clear choice for his level of play and on-field leadership this season. His performance in Week 17 against the electric Maim Dolphins was the one that locked up this award. Jackson threw for five touchdowns and had a perfect 158.3 passer rating in a game that the Ravens had to have to lock up the AFC North and No. 1 seed. With his future locked up in the Charm City, Jackson will only go from strength to strength over the rest of this decade as he pushes for his first Lombardi Trophy.

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The Philadelphia Eagles finished the regular season with a 14-3 record that tied them for the best in the NFL. That alone would be good enough to see Jalen Hurts considered for the Premier Player of Pro Football Award, but digging a little deeper shows how truly pivotal Hurts has been to the success of his franchise in 2022.

The Eagles lost three games this season. Hurts didn’t play in two of those. In his 15 games as the starter, the Eagles went a stunning 14-1. Hurts posted the best numbers of his young NFL career – remember, this is his third season in the league – passing for 3,701 yards and 22 touchdowns to just six interceptions. Even more impressive was that Hurts completed his passes this season at a 66.5% clip, beating defenses with both the explosiveness and efficiency of his arm.

A dual threat in its truest sense, the former Alabama (by way of Oklahoma) quarterback was also a menace with his legs this fall. Hurts rushed for a career-high 13 touchdowns at 4,6 yards per carry. His rushing threat is a huge aspect of what makes Hurts uniquely talented. The Eagles love to call Run Play Options for Hurts, trusting their quarterback to make the correct decisions to gain essential yards and protect his body. It is something that the durable Hurts has done exceptionally well to date in his career.

A two-game stretch in late November and early December showcased Hurts at his very best. In a 40-33 win over the Green Bay Packers at Lincoln Financial Field, Hurts had to do it with his legs. The Packers did what they could to take away Hurts’ passing game – though he still had two touchdowns and zero picks with 153 yards through the air – so he responded by rushing 17 times for 157 yards at 9.2 yards per carry. The following week against the Tennessee Titans, Hurts rushed for just 12 yards but passed for 380 yards with three touchdowns. Two games, two wins, two completely different methods of getting there.

This dedication to winning, to doing anything it takes with his own game to propel the Eagles to a victory, has made Hurts a dominant player in 2022. He picked up instant chemistry with wide receiver AJ Brown after he joined the team from the Titans, as Brown produced a career-best year with almost 1,500 receiving yards and 11 touchdowns.

Sometimes it’s hard to believe that Hurts is just 24 years old. He is one of the premier players spearheading the youth movement in the NFL at quarterback. If he continues to play at his current level, the Philadelphia Eagles will be an NFC East – and Super Bowl – contender for the next decade.

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The 2022 Premier Coach of College Football Award Winner is the incomparable Deion Sanders for his work with the Jackson State Tigers.

When Deion Sanders took the job at Jackson State, the college football world didn’t know how to react. Deion Sanders was a massive name that spanned generations thanks to his play in the NFL with the Atlanta Falcons, San Francisco 49ers, Dallas Cowboys, and Baltimore Ravens, but also his media career on ESPN and the NFL Network. Add in his appearances on shows such as The League, Running Wild with Bear Grylls, and Deion & Pilar: Prime Time Love, and it is hard to argue that Deion Sanders was the biggest name ever to take a job at the FCS level.

Deion Sanders not only took over an FCS gig but also a program in Jackson State that is part of the historically black colleges and universities (HBCU) system. Deion Sanders did have previous coaching experience, first as head coach of his own Prime Prep Academy and then at Triple A Academy, but his move from there showed that Prime wanted to learn more about the coaching game. He stepped back from the head coach role, taking a job as offensive coordinator of Trinity Christian Academy, which allowed him to coach his sons Shilo and Shedeur.

Deion Sanders’ first season at Jackson State was maybe what people expected. He went 4-3 in a season moved from Fall to Spring by the Covid-19 pandemic, setting foundations for Jackson State but not setting the world on fire.

In 2021, Deion Sanders lit up the college football world.  His Jackson State Tigers won 11 games, setting a program record and earning Sanders the Eddie Robinson Award as the top FCS coach in the country. He went 8-0 in SWAC play and the Tigers finished the season with an 11-2 record. As good as his 2021 was, Deion Sanders was just getting started.

Deion Sanders has relationships with players that other coaches can only dream of. His massive personality and drive to be the best at everything he does resonate with recruits and their families. That is how Deion Sanders pulled off the biggest recruiting coup of all time when he flipped defensive back Travis Hunter from Florida State to Jackson State before the 2022 season. Hunter was the No. 1 player in the entire class, the type of player that HBCUs have zero chance of signing. With Sanders at the helm, the Tigers were able to sign Hunter, a player who had 15 tackles, nine pass breakups, two picks, and a fumble recovery in seven games played as a true freshman this fall.

Deion Sanders not only recruits but also develops players, too. That is how his Jackson State team took another leap forward in 2022, rolling to the Celebration Bowl on the back of a 12-1 record and another undefeated season in SWAC play. For his Jackson State career, Deion Sanders was 27-6 as a head coach and 23-3 if you discount the Covid mess of the 2020 season. It is an astonishing record for a first-time college head coach and one that Sanders should always be proud of as he moves on to new challenges – enormous challenges – with the Colorado State Buffaloes in the Pac-12 starting in 2023.

Your 2022 Premier Coach of College Football Award Winner is the legendary Deion Sanders.

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The winner of the 2022 Freddie Solomon Community Sports Award Winner is Auburn University edge rusher Derick Hall.

Derick Hall has been terrorizing SEC fields since he stepped through the door at Auburn. He ended his brilliant college career with a dominant senior season, being the only Auburn player to be voted onto the All-SEC First Team. His senior season consisted of seven sacks, 12 tackles for a loss, and 60 tackles, with his game-changing plays also including two forced fumbles and an interception. For his career, Hall totaled an astonishing 147 tackles, 19.5 sacks, and 29.5 TFLs.

Hall will go down as an Auburn legend on the field. However, that is only half his story as for everything Hall was on the field as a disruptor and defensive star, he was kind, generous, and compassionate about community service behind closed doors.

Jeffrey Hulum III, the CEO of Extend a Hand Help a Friend, describes Hall as “A humble, intelligent, talented, and outstanding young man.” Hall has been a constant contributor to the organization and has volunteered there for several years. This was felt most during the water crisis in Jackson, MS when Hall used his money and influence to send pallets of clean water to families in the Jackson area,

Hall grew up in Mississippi, so the urge to give back to his home state during a crisis was massive. Hall saw the effects of need at a young age when his hometown of Gulfport, MS, was severely damaged by Hurricane Katrina. This, plus the influence of his mother, who works at the Salvation Army in Gulfport to this day, instilled a sense of giving back in Hall that he has never forgotten.

Hall is an excellent example of a player using the NIL and using his stature in college football to give back. He had one foot out of the door to the NFL as an underclassman, but his love for college football and the Auburn Tigers brought him back. Hall is a competitor, a player driven to win and driven to play his best football on every down. He is going to make an NFL team better immediately with his presence as an edge rusher and an NFL city better just by having him as a resident.

That mixture of skill on the field and giving off of it is why Derick Hall was named the Freddie Solomon Community Sports Award Winner for 2022 by the Solomon Family through the Premier Players Community Sports Foundation.

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