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May 2, 2012

Austin -- Two former Longhorns were named to the 2012 Hampshire Honor Society, the National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame (NFF) announced today. The honorees are LB Emmanuel Acho and RB Foswhitt Whittaker. Texas’ two selections were tied for second-most of any 2011 Big 12 university.

The NFF Hampshire Honor Society recognizes players in their last year of eligibility who were a starter or significant substitute throughout the season, while achieving a 3.2 cumulative GPA throughout their entire undergraduate career and meeting all NCAA-mandated progress towards degree requirements.

A total of 721 players from 232 schools qualified for membership in the society's sixth year, marking this year's class as the largest since the program's creation in 2007.

"The growing number of students involved in the Hampshire Honor Society each year shows that football student-athletes not only play at the highest level but that they are some of the best students on campus as well," said NFF President & CEO Steve Hatchell. "We salute each one of these young men for their commitment to education and their leadership on and off the football field."

Acho graduated in December 2011 with a degree in sports management and a 3.44 GPA. He was a William V. Campbell Trophy semifinalist and National Scholar-Athlete candidate. He has also been named a male finalist for the 2012 Arthur Ashe Jr. Sports Scholar Award. He was named to the 2011 AFCA Good Works Team and the Capital One Academic All-District 7 team. Acho was also a three-time first-team Academic All-Big 12 selection and was named as the football winner of the Lan Hewlett Academic Award (Academic MVP). Acho is also a seven-time member of UT's Athletics Director's Honor Roll and a two-time Arthur Ashe Award recipient (national award for minority student-athletes).

Acho played in 48 games (26 starts) where he posted 278 tackles (159 solo), 41 TFL, eight sacks, seven forced fumbles, three fumble recoveries, two INTs, 13 PBU and 26 pressures for his career.

Acho was tabbed a 2011 first-team All-Big 12 selection (coaches, AP, Houston Chronicle, San Antonio Express-News, Fort Worth Star-Telegram) and led the team with 131 tackles and 19 tackles for loss to go with three sacks, one caused fumble, 18 quarterback pressures and six pass breakups. He helped Texas lead the Big 12 and rank sixth in the nation in rushing defense (96.23 ypg), 11th in total defense (306.08) and 10th in pass efficiency defense (111.0) in 2011. He earned team awards this past season as the winner of the Dr. Nasser Al-Rashid Strength & Conditioning Award, the Clyde Littlefield Most Team Spirited (Defense) and the Mike Campbell Most Valuable Defensive Player.

Acho was a second-team All-Big 12 selection in 2010 after registering 87 tackles (49 solo), three sacks, 12 TFL, two forced fumbles, one fumble recovery, one INT, six PBU and five pressures. He was named an honorable mention All-Big 12 selection in 2009 after recording 49 tackles (36 solo), 10 TFL, two sacks, three forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries, an INT, a PBU and three pressures. He saw action in 10 games as a true freshman with 11 tackles and a forced fumble.

Whittaker earned his bachelor’s degree in corporate communications in 2010 and will attain his master’s in general kinesiology in May of this year. He is a three-time first-team Academic All-Big 12 selection (2009-11) and a seven-time member of UT's Athletics Director's Honor Roll. He also is a two-time recipient of the Arthur Ashe Award (national award for minority student-athletes).

Whittaker played in 38 games (18 starts) in his career where he carried the ball 263 times for 1,233 yards (4.7 ypc) and 12 TDs. He also added 73 receptions for 464 yards and was 2-for-2 passing for 40 yards for his career. Whittaker owns several school records for kickoff returns including tied for the most career touchdowns (2), the longest kickoff return (100 yards, twice), most yards in a single game (252 vs. Oklahoma State in 2011) and highest average per return in a single game (42.0 vs. Oklahoma State in 2011). His kickoff return prowess earned him the 2011 College Football Performance Awards Kickoff Returner of the Year Trophy.

In 2011, Whittaker was first-team All-Big 12 selection (coaches), second team (Kansas City Star, Fort Worth Star-Telegram) and honorable mention (AP) as a kick returner and was honorable mention for Big 12 Special Teams Player of the Year (coaches). He had 386 rushing yards and a team-high six touchdowns on 66 carries, caught 16 passes for 145 yards and one touchdown, and returned 10 kickoffs for 424 yards and two touchdowns.

Whittaker rushed for 351 yards and two TDs on 80 carries (4.4 ypc) in 2010 and also caught 34 passes (No. 6 on UT's single-season receptions by a RB list) for 217 yards and completed 2-of-2 passes for 40 yards. In 2009, he appeared in 11 games at running back, including three starts, when he rushed 53 times for 212 yards and four TDs and caught 13 passes for 51 yards. He appeared in seven games, starting two, in 2008 (missing six games due to a knee injury) and carried the ball 64 times for 284 yards (4.4 ypc) and added 10 receptions for 51 yards.

The NFF Hampshire Honor Society capitalizes on the NFF's current National Scholar-Athlete program 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 who play football at the more than 700 college and universities with football programs nationwide. Jon F. Hanson, the chairman and founder of The Hampshire Companies, provided the endowment 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 a chairman emeritus. Each player awarded with membership in this year's Honor Society will receive a certificate commemorating their achievement.

The Hampshire Honor Society represents a powerful component in the organization's rich history as an innovator in promoting the scholar-athlete ideal. Launched in 1959 with a donation from Hall of Fame coach Earl "Red" Blaik, the NFF's National Scholar-Athlete Awards, presented by Fidelity Investments, became the first initiative in history to grant postgraduate scholarships based on a player's combined academic success, football performance and community leadership. And, since its inception, the NFF National Scholar-Athlete Awards program has awarded $9.8 million to 756 top scholars and community leaders.

Currently, the NFF distributes more than $300,000 a year at the national level through the program to 16 individuals. Each winner of a National Scholar-Athlete Award receives an $18,000 post-graduate scholarship. Additionally, the William V. Campbell Trophy, endowed by HealthSouth, is given to one member of each year's class as the absolute best. The winner of the Campbell Trophy, claimed by Army linebacker Andrew Rodriguez in 2011, receives a total scholarship of $25,000 and a 24-inch, 25-pound bronze trophy. Through, its chapter network, the NFF also awards an additional $1 million to local high school student-athletes, bringing the NFF's annual scholarship distribution total to more than $1.3 million.