Seth McLaughlin is one of college football’s top scholar-athletes.
The Ohio State center was named Wednesday as a semifinalist for the Campbell Trophy, which honors college football’s top scholar-athlete for his combined academic success, football performance and leadership.
McLaughlin is currently working toward earning a third college degree in human development and family science after earning a bachelor’s degree in finance and a master’s degree in sports hospitality management at Alabama. McLaughlin earned his first degree from Alabama in just two-and-a-half years, graduating summa cum laude with a perfect 4.0 grade-point average. He was named a first-team Academic All-American in 2023.
McLaughlin has also been active in the community at both Alabama and Ohio State. Last November, McLaughlin donated NIL proceeds from selling “Run the Damn Ball” hats to the West Alabama Food Bank. He told ABC6 earlier this month that he plans to sell the hats again for charity this fall.
On the field, McLaughlin has made an immediate impact on Ohio State’s offensive line as the Buckeyes’ new starting center. The fifth-year senior, who transferred from Alabama to Ohio State in January, has drawn consistent praise from his coaches and teammates for the veteran presence and leadership he’s brought to the Buckeyes’ front line.
“Seth has done a great job of getting everybody on the same page. He's like having an NFL center in there,” Ryan Day said after Ohio State’s most recent game against Marshall. “When you go into a meeting and you say something, he's got the answer, or he's going to get it fixed. In game, he's talking to those guys. It's just a calming presence, I think.”
McLaughlin is one of 203 semifinalists for the Campbell Trophy, which were announced by the National Football Foundation on Wednesday. Each school is limited to one semifinalist; to be eligible, a player must be either a senior or a graduate student, have a GPA of at least 3.2 and be a starter or significant contributor to his team.
12-14 finalists for the Campbell Trophy will be announced on Oct. 23. Ohio State has two previous winners of the award, both quarterbacks: Bobby Hoying (1995) and Craig Krenzel (2003).
