Senior Striker Xavier McDonald Named to the Watch List for the Wuerffel Trophy

8/3/2023 2:14:00 PM ANNAPOLIS, Md. —Navy senior striker Xavier McDonald has been named to the Watch List for the Wuerffel Trophy, college football's premier award for community service. The Wuerffel Trophy is named after Danny Wuerffel, the 1996 Heisman Trophy winning quarterback from the University of Florida who parlayed his success on the football field into a lifetime of service.

Semifinalists for the award will be announced on Nov. 2 and finalists will be announced on Nov. 28.

The formal announcement of the 2023 recipient is scheduled to be made during the Home Depot College Football Awards on ESPN on either Dec. 7th or 8th. McDonald is an operations research major at the Naval Academy, has played in 24 games in his career and completed over 50 hours of community service over the last year.

McDonald overcame an enormously challenging childhood to become a high achiever in both academics and athletics in high school. He somehow managed to excel in football, track and field and academically, while working 30 to 35 hours a week and taking care of four younger siblings. McDonald took on that heavy responsibility as a freshman in high school after both his parents were incarcerated simultaneously.

To help support himself and his siblings, McDonald got a job as a cashier at Winn-Dixie. During football season, he would ride a bicycle from Northeast High to the grocery store and work from 5:30 p. m.

to 11 p. m. He then rode the bike home and studied, sometimes until 2 a.

m. Despite the dire situation, McDonald was even more determined to succeed. He made the Northeast High varsity football team and started at safety for three years while maintaining a 3.

5 grade point average. .