Pioneer sports brief: Kiser named to Wuerffel Trophy watch list

BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS

Sports Editor, RTC

College football

The National Football Federation has named Notre Dame senior linebacker Jack Kiser to the Wuerffel Trophy watch list.

Kiser started eight of Notre Dame’s 13 games in the 2021-22 season. He had 45 tackles, 26 of which were unassisted. He also became the first Notre Dame player to have multiple defensive touchdowns since Julian Love in 2017.

Named after 1996 Heisman Trophy winner Danny Wuerffel, the Wuerffel Trophy honors character of service to others.

According to the Notre Dame website, Kiser raised funds and was the team relation representative for the Fighting Irish Fight For Life campaign, where a patient in the pediatric hematology/oncology unit of South Bend’s Beacon Children’s Hospital became a teammate of the football team. The campaign raised $56,500 for the FIFFL Food Pantry at the hospital.

Kiser also served as a representative on the Student Athlete Advisory Committee and was named executive lead for the Irish On 3 campaign, where he coordinated events and marketing projects to promote the unifying of all student-athletes at Notre Dame to support one another on and off the court.

Kiser is a 2018 Pioneer grad and was the 2018 IndyStar Mr. Football.