JACKSONVILLE – Jacksonville State senior offensive lineman Justin Lea was recognized for his work off the field again on Wednesday, when he was named a finalist for the 2017 STATS FCS Doris Robinson Scholar-Athlete Award.
 
The native of Henagar, Ala., was traveling home from New York, where he was honored on Tuesday night by the National Football Foundation as a member of the 2017 NFF Scholar-Athlete Class and a finalist for the 2017 William V. Campbell Trophy. The announcement came from STATS, announcing its 13 finalist for the honor that is presented to an FCS student-athlete who excels not only in the classroom, but in the community and beyond.
 
The award is named after the wife of legendary Grambling State coach Eddie Robinson and will be presented at the FCS Awards Banquet and Presentation on Jan. 5 in Frisco, Texas. STATS will announce the winner in a press release on Monday.
 
The award has some JSU history, as former JSU wide receiver Dalton Screws received the inaugural honor in 2015. The 2016 winner was also from the Ohio Valley Conference, with Eastern Kentucky's Tyler Swafford receiving the honor.
 
The mention for Lea is another in a long list of honors for the fifth-year senior. In addition to the prestigious NFF Scholar-Athlete Team, Lea was recently award the OVC's Scholar-Athlete Award. The highest honor an OVC student-athlete can receive is given annually to three men and three women student-athletes for their accomplishments in both the classroom and athletic arena, and because of their leadership qualities.
 
Lea, an offensive lineman on the four-time defending OVC champion Jacksonville State football team, set a new OVC and JSU record for consecutive starts this season, wrapping up a career that saw him start in all 51 games in his time with the Gamecocks.
 
He was named a first team All-OVC offensive lineman for the third-straight year after earning second-team honors as a freshman. He is the first OVC offensive lineman to earn All-OVC nods in each of his four seasons.
 
Lea was named OVC Freshman of the Year in addition to being named a Freshman All-American, helped his team to the National Championship game as a sophomore, and earned All-American honors following his junior campaign after helping pave the way for his team to rush for more than 5,000 yards on the season.
 
In the classroom he graduated with a double major in emergency management and geography in three and a half years with a 3.92 grade point average. He is currently working on a Master's degree in public administration where he carries a 4.0 GPA. Last month he was named one of 13 finalists nationally for the William V. Campbell Trophy (known as the academic Heisman) and earned a spot as a National Scholar-Athlete and an $18,000 postgraduate scholarship.
 
He has earned multiple OVC Academic Medal of Honor and Commissioner's Honor Roll awards and was named a CoSIDA Academic All-American in 2016. On campus he is a member of the International Geographical Honor Society where he has served as the chapter's historian.
 
Lea volunteered for six months with the Talladega County Emergency Management Agency and worked alongside fire departments and other first responders in the Emergency Operation Center at a Talladega NASCAR race in 2015 to develop a training curriculum.
 
On campus, he was a teacher's assistant in Jacksonville State's physical and earth sciences department and served as a student lab instructor. Lea also participated in food drives and led the football team's service efforts at a home for adults with special needs.

The finalists:
Big Sky Conference: Andrew Vollert, Weber State, TE, Sr. (communication major, 3.34 GPA)
Big South Conference: Chandler Burks, Kennesaw State, QB, R-Jr. (sports management, 3.88)
CAA Football: Bryan Schor, James Madison, QB, Sr. (marketing with minor in communications, 3.134)
Ivy League: Justin Watson, Penn, WR, Sr. (finance, 3.45)
Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference: Fidel Romo-Martinez, Delaware State, P, So. (biological science/health profession concentration, 4.0)
Missouri Valley Football Conference: Jake Wieneke, South Dakota State, WR, R-Sr. (physical education/teacher education, 3.62)
Northeast Conference: Andrew O'Neill, Sacred Heart, WR, Sr. (exercise science, 3.86)
Ohio Valley Conference: Justin Lea, Jacksonville State, OL, R-Sr. (graduate in emergency management and geography, 3.92; pursuing master's degree in public administration)
Patriot League: Alex Pechin, Bucknell, P, Jr. (biomedical engineering and management, 3.94)
Pioneer Football League: Max Michaels, San Diego, NB, R-Sr. (accounting, 3.95)
Southern Conference: Andy Schumpert, Furman, TE, Sr. (accounting, 3.77)
Southland Conference: Marlon Walls, Stephen F. Austin, S, Sr. (engineering physics with minor in mathematics, 4.00)
Southwestern Athletic Conference: Percy Cargo Jr., Grambling State, DB, Jr. (business management, 3.76)