Chambana Sun

Illinois senior linebacker Kenenna Odeluga has been named to the preseason watch list for the 2025 Allstate Wuerffel Trophy, according to an announcement by the Wuerffel Foundation on Thursday.

The Allstate Wuerffel Trophy is recognized as college football's leading award for community service. It is given each year to a Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) player who demonstrates outstanding community service, leadership, and performance both on and off the field. The award is named after Danny Wuerffel, a Heisman Trophy winner and College Football Hall of Famer, in recognition of his dedication to promoting service and unity. This year marks the 21st anniversary of the trophy.

Odeluga has received several honors for his contributions beyond football. In 2025, he was awarded Illinois' Big Ten Jackie Robinson Community & Impact Award. He founded Illinois' Afro-Tailgate event, which offers African students a cultural experience at college football games in a welcoming environment. Odeluga organized these tailgates in 2023 and 2024, providing over 60 tickets last year to campus groups, individuals from his hometown of South Holland, Illinois, and church members.

His other activities include helping establish the African Heritage Scholarship at Mount Carmel High School with his family and participating in a mission trip to Africa during summer 2023. Odeluga also visited Carle Foundation Hospital to meet young patients facing health challenges and volunteered at the Salvation Army building a garden. Additionally, he worked with DREAAM on a community service event involving children.

In May 2024, Odeluga attended the Black Student Athlete Summit in Los Angeles where he connected with athletic professionals and student-athletes nationwide. He serves as co-leader for EMPOWER—a student-athlete group supporting athletes of color within Illinois’ Division of Intercollegiate Athletics—and is part of the Illinois Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC), representing football while engaging in various community initiatives. Academically, Odeluga is a three-time Academic All-Big Ten selection.

Other Illinois players currently on national award watch lists include Luke Altmyer (Maxwell Award), Hank Beatty (Paul Hornung Award), J.C. Davis (Outland Trophy), Gabe Jacas (Lott IMPACT Trophy and Bronko Nagurski Trophy), and Xavier Scott (Bronko Nagurski Trophy and Paycom Jim Thorpe Award).

Recent winners of the Allstate Wuerffel Trophy are Nick Dawkins from Penn State (2024), Ladd McConkey from Georgia (2023), and Dillan Gibbons from Florida State (2022). More information about the award can be found on its official website: https://wuerffeltrophy.org/.