Cal Adomitis and Deslin Alexandre placed on Wuerffel Trophy watch list

Pitt long snapper Cal Adomitis and Pitt defensive end Deslin Alexandre were both placed on the Wuerffel Trophy watch list on Thursday. The award was established in 2005 and has since been given out annually to the nation’s most outstanding college football player in terms of athletic and academic achievement and community service.

Adomitis and Alexandre were among 11 ACC athletes who were included on the watch list. The other nine included were North Carolina linebacker Peter Agabe, Duke receiver Jake Bobo, Wake Forest defensive back Tyriq Hardimon, Virginia Tech lineman Brock Hoffman, Syracuse lineman Kingsley Jonathan, Florida State tight end Camren McDonald, NC State linebacker Isaiah Moore, Clemson running back Darien Rencher and Georgia Tech defensive back Juanyeh Thomas.

On paper, Adomitis meets much of the criteria necessary to take home the Wuerffel Trophy as a high-achieving athlete and scholar. Last season, the 6’2”, 250-pound long snapper earned first-team All-ACC honors as well as honorable mention for All-America honors and earned an invitation to the Senior Bowl. And for his achievements in the classroom, he made the All-ACC academic football team.

Alexandre joined Adomitis on the All-ACC academic football team in 2020, enjoying a second consecutive year on the team. In addition, he played in all of Pitt’s games for the second time in his career but saw his production limited by a reduced role that saw him make just two starts. Still, the 6’4”, 285-pound defensive end came up with three sacks, 6.5 tackles for losses and a fumble recovery, and Alexandre will look to build on that in 2021, as he is expected to reclaim a starting role. In 2019, his last season as a starter, he amassed 10.5 tackles for losses and 5.5 sacks.

No Pitt player has ever won the Wuerffel Trophy in its 16-year existence. In addition, the award has never gone to a player from the ACC. However, the trophy has gone to some high-profile recipients in the past, with Florida quarterback Tim Tebow winning in 2008 and USC quarterback Matt Barkley taking it home in 2012. Last season, the Wuerffel Trophy went to New Mexico lineman Teton Saltes.