| NEW YORK, NY. -The College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA), in association with The Associated Press (AP), the Fiesta Bowl Organization and Mayo Clinic – your source for medical answers, have selected three college football student-athletes-Yohance Burnett, a senior linebacker at the University of Tulsa; Aidan Hutchinson, a senior defensive end at the University of Michigan; and John Mitchell. a senior tight end at Florida Atlantic University -as nominees for the 2021 Mayo Clinic Comeback Player of the Year Award. They join previous nominees: Terrel Bernard (Baylor); Jack Coan (Notre Dame); and Brian Kearns, Jr (Stonehill College) who were honored last week. Ten times during the 2021 college football season, three inspiring student-athletes from all levels of college football who have overcome injury, illness, or other challenges, will be recognized as Mayo Clinic Comeback Player of the Year Nominees by a panel of writers, editors, and sports information directors from CoSIDA, AP and Touchdown Illustrated. In December, three of the 30 nominees will be chosen as winners of the Mayo Clinic Comeback Player of the Year Award and will be recognized at a special ceremony during the PlayStation® Fiesta Bowl on Saturday, January 1, at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona. CoSIDA members can nominate football student-athletes until November 1 at Comeback-Player.com. Here’s a look at the inspiring stories of this week’s three honorees: Aidan Hutchinson a senior defensive end for the University of Michigan suffered a season-ending ankle injury on the opening possession of the third game of the 2020 season. A captain at the time, his injury greatly impacted the Wolverines defense. The 6′-6″ 266-lb defensive end worked hard to get back to his pre-injury level of performance and not surprisingly the Plymouth, Michigan native was once again voted a team captain by his teammates. He has started the 2021 season off strong with 10 tackles, 3.5 sacks and a forced fumble in leading Michigan to a 3-0 start. Yohance Burnett a senior outside linebacker for the University of Tulsa tore his ACL last year in fall camp, forcing him to miss the 2020 season. Unfortunately, it was the second time the Pearland, Texas native missed a complete season, having suffered the same injury to the other knee after transferring to Tulsa from Navarro Junior College in 2018. A 6′-1″ 223-lb Golden Hurricane linebacker, who is pursuing his masters in exercise and sports science, opened the season recording a career-high 8 tackles in each of the first two games. John Mitchell a senior tight end at Florida Atlantic University (FAU) suffered both an ACL and bilateral meniscus tear last September that caused him to miss the 2020 season. It was the second season-ending injury of his career, having also suffered a bulging disc L4/L5, herniated disk Level L5/S1 in 2017. Following a year of rehab and a position switch from wide receiver to tight end, the Tallahassee, Florida native opened this season with 11 receptions for 151 yards and 2 TDs in leading the Owls to a 2-1 record. Mitchell, who hopes to become a doctor, earned his undergraduate degree in biomedical sciences and is currently pursuing a masters in the same field. Past winners of the Mayo Clinic Comeback Player of the Year Award have included: 2018 – Antwan Dixon (Kent State), Seth Simmer (Dartmouth), Antonio Wimbush (Carson-Newman); 2019 – Jake Luton (Oregon State), Drew Wilson (Georgia Southern), Octavion Wilson (Salisbury University); 2020 – Jarek Broussard (Colorado), Kenneth Horsey (Kentucky) and Silas Kelly (Coastal Carolina). For a complete list of past honorees and additional details on their remarkable comeback stories, visit www.Comeback-Player.com; follow via Twitter at @ComebackPlayrFB via the hashtag #MayoClinicCPOY; and on Instagram at @Comeback_Player_CFB. About Mayo Clinic: Mayo Clinic is a nonprofit organization committed to innovation in clinical practice, education and research, and providing compassion, expertise and answers to everyone who needs healing. Visit the Mayo Clinic News Network for additional Mayo Clinic news. For information on COVID-19, including Mayo Clinic’s Coronavirus Map tracking tool, which has 14-day forecasting on COVID-19 trends, visit the Mayo Clinic COVID-19 Resource Center. About CoSIDA (College Sports Information Directors of America): CoSIDA was founded in 1957 and is a 3,000+ member national organization comprised of the sports public relations, media relations and communications/information professionals throughout all levels of collegiate athletics in the United States and Canada. The organization is the second oldest management association in intercollegiate athletics. To learn more, visit cosida.com. ### |
