COLUMBUS, Ohio - The Columbus Chapter of The National Football Foundation (NFF) and College Hall of Fame hosted the 49th annual Scholar-Athlete Awards Banquet on Feb. 8th at the University Plaza Hotel.  Awards were given to 13 top high school football scholar-athletes from Central Ohio and seven college football scholar-athletes in the Central Ohio area.  The colleges represented included Ohio State, Denison, Ohio Wesleyan, Otterbein, Capital, Ohio Dominican and Kenyon.

Jim Cordle from Ohio State University was recognized for his excellence on and off the field and for his work in the community.  He was nominated for the award by his coaching staff and was on hand to accept the award.

Originally from Lancaster, Ohio, Jim is a three-year starter for three consecutive Big Ten Championship teams at Ohio State.  He earned the Jim Parker Award, given to the top lineman at Ohio State, and played in four BCS Bowl games and two National Title games.  He helped lead the Buckeyes to a win in the 2010 Rose Bowl against Oregon.  Jim carries a 3.26 GPA in Marketing at the Fisher College of Business.

Jim was  named to the All Big Ten Academic team for four consecutive years and in 2009, was a nominee for the National Football Foundation post-graduate scholarship.  He is active in FCA and Athletes In Action and also arranged a "Bowling with the Buckeyes" fundraiser for Fairfield County Special Olympics that raised over $18,000. His parents are Denise and James Cordle.

The newest inductee from Ohio State into the College Football Hall of Fame, Chris Spielman was on hand as well and was recognized by a crowd of more than 300 for his contributions on and off the field.  Chris is currently a college football telivision analyst with ESPN.  Ohio State now has 31 former players and coaches in the prestigious Hall of Fame.

Jeff Logan, a former Ohio State Football co-captain, academic All-American and All-Big Ten running back received the 2010 Ohio Gold Award, the highest honor given by the organization for contributions to amateur football. Former recipients include Eddie George, Archie Griffin, Woody Hayes, Earle Bruce, John Cooper and Jim Tressel among others.  Logan is a Past-President of the Columbus Chapter and has served on the Board for more than 20 years.

The annual High School Coaches Award was presented to long-time City League Coach Gary Carter. He is the ninth central-Ohio coach to recognized by the Chapter for excellence in coaching and leading young men.

The Tyson Gentry Courage Award was presented to former OSU football player Dan Potokar who successfully battled testicular cancer and returned to help coach as a student assistant at Ohio State.  Tyson Gentry was on hand to present the award to his former teammate.  The award was started in 2009 in Gentry's name for his remarkable efforts to remain an integral part of the Ohio State family after suffering a career ending spinal cord injury.  Ohio State assistant coach Joe Daniels was the recipient of the initial award in 2009.

The NFF and College Hall of Fame is a member-supported non-profit organization dedicated to ensuring the future of amateur football at local, state and national levels. The Foundation with its chapters annually awards nearly $1 million in scholarships to over 3,000 high school and college student athletes for continuing education.