Denelus named finalist for Blanchard-Rogers Trophy

COLUMBIA, S.C. – Benedict College defensive lineman Loobert Denelus has been named one of eight finalists for the 2023 Blanchard-Rogers Trophy, the South Carolina Football Hall of Fame announced Monday.

The Blanchard-Rogers Trophy honors South Carolina’s most outstanding college football player (or SC’s Heisman) for the 2023 season. Each finalist was either born, grew up or played at a high school and/or college football program in the state of South Carolina.

Voting is available online at scfootballhof.org and open to anyone. The voting period runs through January 8, 2024, and provides SCFHOF members, football fans, and media outlets an opportunity to provide a singular vote to help determine the 2023 Blanchard-Rogers Trophy winner.

Denelus is one of the most decorated football players in Benedict history. The two-time SIAC Defensive Player of the Year, he was named first-team All-American by the AFCA in 2022 and second team this season. He was named the HBCU Football Player of the Year in 2022 by the Rice Fame Group, and was named to several HBCU All-America teams. He has distinguished himself academically, earning first-team Academic All-America honors in 2022 and was recently named one of 16 national finalists from all college football schools for the prestigious Campbell Trophy, which is presented to the top football student-athlete.

In addition to Denelus, the other finalists are: Travis Blackshear (CB/Furman University); Jordan Burch (DE/Columbia, SC/Oregon University); Xavier Legette (WR/Mullins, SC/University of South Carolina); Spencer Rattler (QB/ University of South Carolina); Quincy Riley (CB/Columbia, SC/Louisville University); Jeremiah Trotter, Jr. (LB/Clemson University); Nate Wiggins (CB/Clemson University);

The Blanchard-Rogers Trophy is named after Heisman Trophy winners Felix “Doc” Blanchard (McColl,SC/Army/1945) and George Rogers (USC/1980).  The trophy has been used to honor the South Carolina Collegiate Player of the Year since the 2016 season.  The player of the year award has been given out by the SCFHOF annually since the 2013 season.  Dutch Fork High School alum Jalin Hyatt received the 2022 Blanchard-Rogers Trophy at our 10th Annual Enshrinement for his outstanding junior season at Tennessee.  Mr. Hyatt was picked in the third round of the 2023 NFL Draft by the New York Giants.