SAN MATEO COUNTY
Charles Wilcox – Aragon High School
Position: Wide Receiver, Safety
GPA: 3.9
Joey Donati – Tera Nova High School
Position: Quarterback, Defensive End
GPA: 3.9
SANTA CLARA COUNTY
Brandon Cheng – Cupertino High School
Position: Running Back, Quarterback, Wide Receiver, Defensive Back, Kicker
GPA: 4.0
Tyler Lang – Live Oak High School
Position: Left Guard
GPA: 4.0
Callum Schweitzer – Los Gatos High School
Position: Quarterback
GPA: 3.8
SANTA CRUZ
Sam Whelen – Soquel High School
Position: Quarterback
GPA: 3.6
Django Daillak – Soquel High School
Position: Defensive End, Tight End
GPA: 4.0
SOLANO COUNTY
Thomas Jouvenot-Sells – Benicia High School
Position: Running Back, Linebacker
GPA: 3.7
Brandyn Wight – Vacaville High School
Position: Tight End, Defensive Line, Punter
GPA: 3.8
SONOMA COUNTY
Cooper Bluestone – Maria Carrillo High School
Position: Quarterback
GPA: 3.8
Franco Bernardini – Casa Grande High School
Position: Defensive Tackle, Right Guard
GPA: 3.7
CONTRA COSTA COUNTY
Jaxon Bell – Liberty High School
Position: Running Back
GPA: 4.0
Chase Martin – Las Lomas
Position: Defensive End, Left Tackle
GPA: 3.9
David Roman - Miramonte High School
Position: Wide Receiver, Safety, Cornerback, Returner
GPA: 4.0
LAKE/MENDOCINO COUNTIES
Jordan Schwarm – Ukiah High School
Position: Middle Linebacker & Defensive End
GPA: 3.5
Beau David – Ukiah High School
Position: Quarterback
GPA: 3.7
MARIN COUNTY
Vince Tarantino – Marin Catholic High School
Position: Defensive Tackle & Offensive Line
GPA: 3.4
Daniel Rolovich – San Marin High School
Position: Quarterback
GPA: 3.8
NAPA COUNTY
Caden James – American Canyon High School
Position: Offensive Line & Defensive Line
GPA: 3.8
Andre Lopez – American Canyon High School
Position: Running Back & Middle Linebacker
GPA: 4.0
SAN FRANCISCO COUNTY
Christian Rodriguez – Stuart Hall High School
Position: Linebacker, Running Back, Defensive Tackle
GPA: 3.9
Tlaloc Solano – Balboa High School
Position: Center, Defensive End
GPA: 3.4
Our 2026 National Football Foundation Scholar-Athletes are representative of Northern California's best and brightest. Each scholar-athlete receives a scholarship grant to the college of their choice.
Here is a link to our 2021 virtual award ceremony.
The students recognized for their achievement in our 2026 class are the following:
ALAMEDA COUNTY
Tristan Lat - Newark Memorial High School
Position: Middle Linebacker, Running Back
GPA: 3.9
Grady Castro – Livermore High School
Position: Center
GPA: 3.7
2026 Scholar-Athletes
ABOUT US
COUNTY CHAIRMEN
Our scholar-athlete award recipients are selected each year by our County Chairman.
Scholar-athlete nominations for each year's awards dinner are to be submitted by November. The nominee must be a senior playing football, with at least a 3.0 GPA overall. The nominee must also be active in the community. To submit a nomination, please fill out our nomination form and send it to the appropriate county chairman listed below:
ALAMAEDA
COUNTY
Rick Sira, Retired Administrator/Football Coach
Amador Valley High School
ricksira1986@gmail.com
NAPA
COUNTY
Michael 'Duey' Green, HS Football Color Commentator
KVON/KVYN Radio-Napa
cubby1257@yahoo.com
SANTA CRUZ
COUNTY
Ronald Mehuron, Assistant Principal (Retired)
Soquel High School
rmehuron@comcast.net
CONTRA COSTA
COUNTY
Kevin Hartwig, PE Teacher
Freedom High School
Scott Sbranti, PE Dept. Chair
Freedom High School
sbrantis@luhsd.net
SAN FRANCISCO
COUNTY
Donald Collins, Commissioner
San Francisco Unified School District
collinsD1@sfusd.edu
SOLANO
COUNTY
Alexander Tuiolosega, Math Teacher
Benicia High School
atuiolosega@beniciaunified.org
LAKE/MENDOCINO
COUNTIES
TBD
SAN MATEO
COUNTY
Kyle Mack, Teacher
South San Francisco High School
kmack@ssfusd.org
SONOMA
COUNTY
Chip Castleberry, Retired Teacher/Football Coach/AD
Analy High School
1coachchip1@gmail.com
Loretta Castleberry, Retired Teacher
Sonoma County
lcastle@sonic.net
MARIN
COUNTY
Richard Woodall
Asst. Commissioner
Marin County Athletic League
mcal1@marinschools.org
SANTA CLARA
COUNTY
James Shaughnessy, Athletic Director
Leigh High School
jshaughnessy@cuhsd.org
Board of Directors
Emeritus Board Members:
Eric Bjornson
Robert Dykes
Tim Harden
Thomas Hansen
Adam Henderson
Bob Lee
Ron Sacchi
Jon Salinger
Officers & Board Members:
Mark Bailey, President
Tim Kirby, Treasurer
Spencer Leslie, Secretary
Philip Abrams
Coleen Boike
Woodie Dixon, Jr.
Nicholas Kane
Bob Keyser
Mark Lockenmeyer
Todd Renfrew
Neil Santiago
Robert Templeton
Mike Terrizzi
John Wiegmann
Remembering Bob Lee
The Northern California Chapter of the National Football Foundation mourns the loss of our longtime board member and dear friend, Bob Lee, who devoted more than four decades to our chapter and its mission.
Bob had a remarkable career in football, playing quarterback and punter during a 13-year NFL career with the Minnesota Vikings, Atlanta Falcons and Los Angeles Rams and appearing in three Super Bowls. He was named the Atlanta Falcons’ Most Valuable Player in 1973 and later returned to his alma mater, the University of the Pacific, where he served as Director of Athletics.
For many years, Bob was also the familiar and beloved emcee of our Annual Awards Dinner, helping us celebrate generations of outstanding scholar-athletes from the 12 counties of Northern California. In recognition of his extraordinary service, our chapter honored Bob with its Distinguished American Award in 2007 and established the Bob Lee Endowed Scholarship in his name in 2017.
Bob’s commitment to young people and his community extended well beyond our organization. He served as chairman of the San Francisco Special Olympics, supported the Boy Scouts of America, and served for more than two decades on the board of the San Francisco Prep Hall of Fame.
Above all, Bob was a wonderful family man, a loyal friend and a generous, gracious presence in the lives of so many. We are deeply grateful for all that he gave to our chapter, to the game of football and to generations of young people.
Bob will be sorely missed, but his friendship, leadership and legacy will remain an enduring part of the Northern California Chapter.
Interested in becoming a sponsor?
The National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame is an organization of more than 8,000 members active in 119 chapters across the nation. We are pledged to perpetuate the idea that the values embodied in football are not merely athletic, but provide a framework for a thriving and nurturing American society. The Foundation's guiding enterprise is the selection of outstanding young men who exemplify outstanding football ability, outstanding academic accomplishment, and leadership in campus and community events.
The Northern California Chapter, one of the largest and most active groups, has awarded $1,007,000 in scholarships since 1960. Our graduate rate in higher education is 99%. These honorees have gone on to outstanding careers in law, medicine, education, public affairs, science, the military, and business careers. We welcome and appreciate scholarship sponsors and offer the following to make your participation more memorable:
A $1,000 scholarship will be given in the name of the sponsor
Sponsors will receive the applications of the Scholar Athletes and will select the person/persons they wish to sponsor
Sponsors will receive two complimentary tickets to our dinner
Your photo will be taken with the Scholar Athlete at the dinner, and mounted on a plaque to be displayed
Recognition will be given in our printed material.
For additional information regarding our program, please Contact Us.
Interested in making a lasting difference?
Endow a scholarship
You can help ensure the long term viability of our scholarship efforts by perpetually endowing a NFFHF Scholarship with a gift of $25,000. Learn more…
Join our Planned Endowment
Or become a member of our Planned Endowment by bequesting a portion of your estate to support the NFFHF by using the following language in your estate plan:
"I, [name], of [city, state, ZIP], give, devise and bequeath to the National Football Foundation & Hall of Fame, Northern California Chapter [specific amount or percentage of the estate] to support its scholarship program."
If you are interested in becoming a member of our Planned Endowment by naming in your estate plan a gift in your name, your school's name, or the name of a loved one, please Contact Us.