Wheaton, Ill. - Wheaton College running bacl Giovanni Weeks has been named as one of 20 semifinalists for the 2024 Gagliardi Trophy, an award presented by Stearns Bank and the J-Club of Saint John's University (Minn.) to the most outstanding football player in NCAA Division III. The Gagliardi Trophy, given annually since 1993, recognizes excellence in athletics, academics and community service. The award is named after John Gagliardi, the legendary Hall of Fame head football coach at St. Johns, who retired in 2012 with 489 career victories, the most in college football history at the time.

Weeks is the fourth Wheaton player to be a semifinalist for the award, joining quarterback Will Bowers (2022), linebacker Eric Stevenson (2018) and offensive lineman Matt Snebold (2015). Weeks is a senior Business/Economics major at Wheaton.

This season, Weeks has run for a school record 1,593 yards on 239 carries and tied his own school record with 20 touchdown runs. He averages 6.5 yards per carry and 142.2 rushing yards per game. Additionally, he has 26 receptions for 276 yards with four touchdown catches.

This season Weeks has become the first Wheaton running back to surpass 4,000 career rushing yards as he enters Saturday's playoff game at UW-Whitewater with 4,274 yards. He also holds the school records for scoring (416 points), total touchdowns (69), and rushing touchdowns (58). In last Saturday's win against Mount St. Joseph he became Wheaton's all-time leader in all-purpose yards with 5,366 yards surpassing Brad Musso's 5,332 yards from 2001-04. Weeks' career average of 12.6 points per game ranks first among all active NCAA football players (all divisions) and is a mark that ranks 11th all-time in Division III history. His 416 career points is 26th in Division III history.

A record number of nominations were submitted by colleges across the country, and the semifinalists were selected by the J-Club Board of Directors. The Gagliardi Trophy national-selection committee is comprised of 18 Division III coaches (three from each NCAA Region), six Division III administrators (one from each region), 12 regional notable voters (two from each region) and six national voters with Division III backgrounds. A fan vote, which runs until Dec. 2, is live at this link.