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PROVO -- Although usually shying away from the media, BYU senior safety Andrew Rich finds himself in the spotlight once again.
Rich was announced as a nominee for the Inaugural Burlsworth Trophy, which is given to the collegiate player who began his career as a walk-on and has shown outstanding performance on the field.
The award comes as a perfect summary of an outstanding career at BYU for Rich, who came to BYU as a walk on after playing at Snow College. He has since been seen as a leader by coaches and fellow players for the Cougars. As a senior he brings leadership and perspective to this year's young BYU team, and as Head Coach Bronco Mendenhall feels, epitomizes BYU Cougar football.
"He's exactly what we want from a BYU football player," complimented Mendenhall. "How he plays, how he conducts himself, who he is; I'll use him as an example from this point forward as long as I'm here at BYU. I'll ask my coaches, ‘does he play like Andrew Rich?'"
While playing for Snow College, Rich racked up 120 tackles and five interceptions during the 2007 season, helping the Badgers reach the NJCAA championship. He never lost his drive for success or his winning attitude despite having to work for his spot on BYU's roster.
2008 marked Rich's first year as a Cougar, where he played in all 13 games and had three starts, first being against Colorado State. In total that year, he had 26 tackles, a forced fumble, interception, and fumble recovery.
From that point on, Rich has been a beast on the field. In 2009 Rich simply dominated. He led the team with 85 tackles, 51 solo tackles. He also led the team with four interceptions and had forced two fumbles in the season opener against Oklahoma which was, at the time, ranked third in the nation. Rich has already surpassed last year's total with 96 tackles (55 solo) through 11 games this season. He also has three interceptions, collecting two in the Cougars' last game against New Mexico.
Rich is humble when he looks at his career.
"Our careers have been up and down, but the friendships you build, that's what matters most," said Rich. "That's why we play football that's why we play at BYU. Our experience has been a dream come true. I think more than anything the correlation that we've had to live, the ups and downs, diversity, battling through hard times. It's a game that we love. It builds character."
Nominees for the Burlsworth Trophy must have started their first season of participation with a Division 1 (FBS) football program without financial aid from their athletic department. It was created in honor of Brandon Burlsworth a former University of Arkansas walk-on and All-American who worked his way to being 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.
