NORMAL, Ill. – The National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame (NFF) honored nine Illinois State football student-athletes among a record number of members for the 2025 NFF Hampshire Honor Society, which comprises college football players from all divisions of the NCAA, NAIA and sprint football who each maintained a cumulative 3.2 GPA or better throughout their college careers.

Redbird offensive lineman Micah Barnhart, tight end Mitch Bartol, longsnapper Dylan Calabrese, safety Dillon Gearhart, offensive lineman Ryan Gudaitis, defensive lineman Jake Siegel, linebacker Darius Walker, defensive back Nigel White and offensive lineman Hunter Zambrano comprised this year's group of ISU honorees on the annual list.

The Redbird standouts were among a record 2,514 players from 339 schools qualified for membership in 2025, marking the largest class in the program's 19-year history. Since its inception, the initiative has honored 20,928 student-athletes. This year's members represented six divisions: 689 from the FBS, 531 from the FCS, 212 from Division II, 978 from Division III, 58 from the NAIA, and 46 sprint football players. They hailed from schools in every state and the District of Columbia—except Alaska, which does not sponsor an eligible college football program. The FBS cohort came from 120 schools, reflecting a 90 percent participation rate. 
 
"In today's era of NIL and the transfer portal, we firmly believe that education remains the key to long-term success," said NFF President & CEO Steve Hatchell. "These results reaffirm that academics are still top of mind for today's student-athletes. We salute the schools, coaches, and administrators who continue to champion education as a core part of the student-athlete experience. We'll keep doing everything we can to promote those academic ideals and ensure education stays central to the holistic development of every student-athlete." 

The NFF Hampshire Honor Society capitalizes on the NFF's National Scholar-Athlete program by greatly expanding the number of scholar-athletes the NFF can recognize each year. The program further strengthens the organization's leadership role in encouraging academic performance by the student-athletes at the 774 colleges and universities with football programs nationwide.
 
Jon F. Hanson, the chairman and founder of The Hampshire Companies, provided the funds to launch the NFF Hampshire Honor Society in 2007. He made the contribution as part of his legacy to the organization after serving as NFF Chairman from 1994-2006. He currently serves the organization as chairman emeritus. Each player awarded membership in this year's Honor Society will receive a certificate commemorating his or her achievement.

GoRedbirds.com and the Illinois State Redbirds App:  Your sources for Illinois State tickets, Weisbecker Scholarship Fund gifts, multimedia, Redbird merchandise, photos and more.