Wayne McGillicuddy
WESTFIELD – Westfield State senior Wayne McGillicuddy will be honored with the Francis X. Keating Award for overcoming off-field adversities at the National Football Foundation’s Western Massachusetts Football Awards Banquet on April 12 at UMass.
McGillicuddy was a first team all-conference pick for the Owls in 2014 and a second team all-conference selection in 2013. He took over as the Owls starting center midway through his freshman year.
Wayne’s story of succeeding while battling ADHD, dyslexia, and illness in his family, has been well documented.
He is finishing up his degree with several online classes and is currently serving as a coaching intern at NCAA Division I Florida Atlantic University.
The NFF Chapter Network, spread across 120 outposts in 48 states, serves as the backbone of a nationwide effort to encourage academic excellence, leadership and sportsmanship among young football players. Each year the chapters combine to stage more than 1,000 events, including all-star games, coaching clinics, college nights, leadership conferences and more than 100 scholarship banquets.
This is the second straight year that a Westfield State football player has earned one of the chapter’s major awards. Offensive lineman Joe Kreinsen earned the DeOrmond Tuss McLaughry Award presented annually to the outstanding college football scholar-athlete in Western Massachusetts.
