Ricky Ray may be one of the finest passers to grace FredAnderson field, but he is also a standout in the classroom.

Ray, Sac State65533;s field general, who also holds a 3.8 GPAwas honored on Wednesday night by the National Football Foundationand College Football Hall of Fame, Inc. as a superb scholarathlete.

“It65533;s nice to be recognized as one of the best in thearea with schoolwork practices and games,” said Ray who has earnedrecognition as an All Big Sky Conference player as well as being anAcademic All-American .

The ceremony, which also honored a number of other regionalscholar athletes from the collegiate and high school ranks in the2001, was held at the Radison Hotel, and featured keynote speakerRob Awalt. Awalt is a former All-Pro tight end who won two SuperBowls with the Dallas Cowboys, and he delivered a fiery speech thatmotivated the audience of 250 people.

Awalt65533;s speech focused on his evolution from High SchoolAll-American to Super Bowl champion.

Along the way Awalt focused on all the different types of menwhom coached him and the philosophies they used in molding him as aplayer.

The event honored coaches in the Northern California area whohave not only developed quality football programs, but alsodeveloped solid young away from the gridiron.

18 Players were honored for their feats on the field and in theclassroom. Those players are in good company. Among the pastrecipients of this honor are current NFL players Giovanni Carmazzi(49ers), Teddy Bruschi (Patriots), and Jason Fisk (Titans).

With the awards ceremony out of the way, Ray will now focus hisenergy at a potential career in the NFL. In the next few weeks, Raywill have personal workouts with the Cincinnati Bengals and OaklandRaiders, who emphasize the control passing game, which Rayprefers.