WTAMU senior offensive lineman Aaron Mullane was named as a recipient of the prestigious NFF National Scholar-Athlete last week. He is also a finalist for the William V. Campbell Trophy also awarded by the National Football Foundation.
“It’s just a blessing and an honor that I will remember for the rest of my life,” Mullane said. “As soon as I was notified about it I kind of realized the magnitude. I just realized how big a blessing of a scholarship it is. $18,000 dollars worth of medical school is huge, it puts a large dent in my expenses for medical school.”
Mullane now holds an honor that has been held by other football greats such as Peyton Manning and Eli Manning. Among those being named for the award this year are University of South California quarterback Matt Barkley, Northwestern offensive tackle Patrick Ward and University of Alabama center Barrett Jones.
“Going and reading up on the National Football Foundation and the different athletes that they have helped throughout their lives such as Peyton Manning and Eli Manning and Tim Tebow, all those guys, and now I am sitting in the same spot that they were not too long ago,” Mullane said. “It means a lot. Just the fact, you know, I am ending the end of my football career and those guys are still playing and this is an academic award as well as athletic. To get an award and get recognized athletically and academically is an honor.”
Mullane is double majoring in both Biology and Chemistry, and plans to go to medical school after graduating from WT in December.
“I graduate in December and thenI have six or seven months until medical school starts. Between that time I am going to be getting more experience in the medical field, watching some primary care physicians, still observing more surgeries, hopefully get more surgical experience,” Mullane said. “Just enjoying this time before medical school starts.”
Mullane said the most enjoyable thing about this football season, where the Buffs have a chance of winning the Lone Star Conference championship, has been the relationship with the other players.
“The group of guys that we have right now on our team is the best group of guys I have ever been around,” Mullane said. “Just the camaraderie that we have is amazing. They make it fun to come out to practice everyday. Practice isn’t always the funniest thing in the world, but they make it more fun to get down and dirty with everybody.”
Mullane may be looking forward to his future after WT, but his mind is still focused on the present season.
“As far as Saturday goes, we had a goal set in mind at the beginning of the season, now its time to go and make that goal a reality. We’re ready for Saturday and its time to bring another championship to WT.”
