12 Cavaliers Named to NFF Hampshire Honor Society

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – A total of 12 Virginia football players have earned National Football Foundation & College Football Hall of Fame Hampshire Honor Society membership, as announced by the National Football Foundation & College Football Hall of Fame today (April 16).

Virginia was one of 22 FBS schools to have at least 10 honorees in 2025.

2024-25 Hampshire Society Membership
Chico Bennett Jr.
Jahmeer Carter
Jimmy Christ
Ethan Davies
Michael Diatta
Noah Josey
Kendren Smith
Daniel Sparks
Brian Stevens
Corey Thomas
Jack Witmer
Sackett Wood Jr.

To earn membership a football student-athlete must maintain a cumulative 3.2 GPA or better throughout his college career. Members of the NFF Hampshire Honor Society must be either a senior player who will graduate this spring/summer and just completed their final year of eligibility in 2023 or a graduate player who has been out of high school at least three years.

A total of 2,514 players from 339 schools qualified for membership in 2025, setting a record for the number of members in a single year during the program’s 19-year history.

Other qualifications for membership in the NFF Hampshire Honor Society include: Being a starter or a significant contributor in the last year of eligibility at an NCAA FBS, FCS, Division II, Division III or an NAIA college or university; and meeting all NCAA/NAIA-mandated progress toward degree requirements.

A Cavalier has now earned the honor 10 years in a row.

2025: Chico Bennett Jr., Jahmeer Carter, Jimmy Christ, Ethan Davies, Michael Diatta, Noah Josey, Kendren Smith, Daniel Sparks, Brian Stevens, Corey Thomas, Jack Witmer, Sackett Wood Jr.
2024: Paul Akere, Jimmy Christ, Matt Ganyard, Jared Rayman, Brian Stevens, Malik Washington, Sackett Wood.
2023: Paul Akere, Jaylon Baker, Chico Bennett, Kam Butler, Antonio Clary, Derek Devine, Brendan Farrell, John Paul Flores, Coen King, Jared Rayman, Keytaon Thompson.
2022: Mandy Alonso, Adeeb Atariwa, Joey Blount, Danny Caracciolo, De’Vante Cross, Luke Finkelston, Hayden Mitchell, Jelani Woods
2021: Brian Delaney, Matt Gahm, Dillon Reinkensmeyer.
2020: Nash Griffin, Jordan Mack, Bryce Perkins, Joe Reed.
2019: Evan Butts, Lester Coleman, Joe Spaziani
2018: Kurt Benkert, Micah Kiser
2017: Nicholas Conte, Ryan Santoro, Conner Wingo-Reeves
2016: Ian Frye

“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 Hampshire Foundation is the charitable arm of The Hampshire Companies, a privately-held, fully-integrated real estate firm that has more than 60 years of hands-on, cycle-tested experience in acquiring, developing, leasing, repositioning, managing, financing and disposing of real estate. Founded by Jon F. Hanson, who served as NFF Chairman from 1994-2006, Hampshire is headquartered in Morristown, New Jersey.