AUBURN, Ala. – Auburn junior Derrick Brown was recognized for his off-the-field contributions Thursday as he was one of 106 players named to the watch list for the 2018 Wuerffel Trophy, known as "college football's premier award for community service."
Named after 1996 Heisman Trophy winning quarterback Danny Wuerffel, the Wuerffel Trophy is awarded to the FBS player that best combines exemplary community service with athletic and academic achievement.
Brown, who made the watch lists for the Outland and Nagurski Trophies earlier this week, emerged as one of Auburn's top defensive linemen last season with 56 tackles, nine tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks and two forced fumbles. He was selected second-team All-SEC by the media at this year's SEC Media Days event.
Off the field, Brown has made SEC Academic Honor Roll his first two years on campus and was honored as an Academic Top Tiger this past year. He also represented Auburn the past two years at the SEC Student-Athlete Leadership Council for football, and he took part in a mission trip to the Dominican Republic in May.
Brown was nominated for the AFCA Allstate Good Works Team last week.
Semifinalists for this year's Wuerffel Trophy will be announced on Nov. 1, and the finalists will be announced on Nov. 19. The formal announcement of the 2018 recipient will be made at the National Football Foundation's press conference in New York City on Dec. 4. The presentation of the 2018 Wuerffel Trophy will occur at the 50th All Sports Association Awards Banquet on Feb. 15, 2019 in Fort Walton Beach, Florida.
Last year, former Auburn kicker Daniel Carlson was a semifinalist for the Wuerffel Trophy.
Greg Ostendorf is a Senior Writer for AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on Twitter: @greg_ostendorf