Georgia punter Drew Butler is one of 47 FBS players named today as candidates for the National Football Foundation Scholar-Athlete Awards and as semifinalists for the William V. Campbell Trophy for college football’s top scholar-athlete.

Candidates must be in their final seasons, have a 3.2 GPA, be a first team player or significant contributor and show leadership and citizenship..

There are 127 candidates total across all classifications.

Up to 16 recipients will be selected by the awards committee for an $18,000 postgraduate scholarship, which will be announced on Oct. 26. They will become finalists for the Campbell Trophy, which is awarded on Dec. 6 in New York.

Butler has a 3.62 GPA. He graduated Cum Laude from with a degree in Telecommunications and is now a graduate student in the Sport Management Master’s program. He was a 2010 Academic All-American, the seventh player in program history to be named both an athletic and academic All-American.

Butler, from Duluth, won the 2009 Ray Guy Award for nation’s top punter and was a finalist last season. He’s fifth in the nation with a 48.06-yard average this year.

Former Bulldog offensive lineman Matt Stinchcomb won the Campbell Trophy in 1998.

–Please follow me at Twitter.com/marcweiszer