Football: Shane Vallot Named a Burlsworth Trophy Nominee

Award honors player who began career as a walk-on

LAFAYETTE – Junior center Shane Vallot joins 67 other student-athletes from Division I (FBS) as nominees for the 2020 Burlsworth Trophy, the Burlsworth Foundation announced on Tuesday morning.
 
The coveted award is given annually to the most outstanding football player who began his career as a walk-on and has shown outstanding performance on the field.
 
Vallot joined Louisiana as a walk-on in 2017 and saw limited action in 2018 before becoming a key cog for head coach Billy Napier‘s offense in the 2019 season, starting all 14 games at center.
 
As a redshirt sophomore, Vallot helped pave the way for a Louisiana ground attack that broke multiple school records in the rushing game, while the offensive line was recognize on the Joe Moore Award Midseason Honor Roll.
 
During the 2020 campaign, the Lafayette native has started in all 10 games at center for Louisiana once again helping the offensive line to Joe Moore Award Midseason Honor Roll recognition. Ahead of the Sun Belt Conference Championship Game and with the help of Vallot, the offensive line currently ranks seventh in the nation for sacks allowed (0.90) and eighth nationally for tackles-for-loss allowed (3.80).
 
The Burlsworth Trophy will host an awards ceremony virtually on January 4, 2021 to honor the three finalists and to announce the 2020 winner.
 
No. 17 Louisiana now shifts its focus to the Sun Belt Conference Championship Game on Saturday, Dec. 19, against No. 11 Coastal Carolina. The title game is slated to kickoff at 11 a.m. CST and will be broadcast on either ESPN or ESPN2.
 
For more information on the league’s title game, visit the Sun Belt’s Championship Game home page here.