FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Patrick Laird was selected Tuesday as one of 10 national semifinalists for the Burlsworth Trophy awarded annually to the nation's most outstanding football player who began his career as a walk-on. Laird spent his first three seasons as a walk-on at Cal before being granted an athletic scholarship in August of 2017. Laird was also a national semifinalist for the award in 2017.

The selection committee will announce three Burlsworth Trophy finalists on Tuesday, Nov. 13. All three finalists will be honored and the winner announced at a luncheon hosted by the Brandon Burlsworth Foundation in conjunction with the Springdale Rotary Club on Monday, Dec. 3, in Springdale, Ark.

The Burlsworth Trophy is named in honor of Brandon Burlsworth, who walked on to the Arkansas football team in 1994 and eventually became a three-year starter and 1998 All-American. Burlsworth was selected as the 63rd overall pick by the Indianapolis Colts in the third round of the 1999 NFL Draft but was tragically killed in a car accident 11 days later. The Burlsworth Foundation was created in his memory and supports the physical and spiritual needs of children, in particular those who have limited opportunities. Burlworth's life is also the subject of the major motion picture "Greater" released in 2016.

For more information about the Burlsworth Trophy, visit burlsworthtrophy.com.

Below are notes on Laird with an extended bio available by clicking on his name.

Patrick Laird, RB, 6-0, 205, Sr., 2L, Arroyo Grande, CA (Mission Prep)

• A 2018 national honors candidate as a senior who is a national finalist for the Senior CLASS Award, a national semifinalist for the Burlsworth Trophy and Campbell Trophy, and a member of the AFCA Good Works Team®
• Also Cal's candidate for Pac-12 Football Scholar-Athlete of the Year, on preseason watch lists for the Maxwell Award and Wuerffel Trophy, a candidate for the Doak Walker Award and a nominee for CoSIDA Academic All-America® honors
• Earned second-team preseason All-Pac-12 honors from Athlon and Lindy's while he was a fourth-team pick of Phil Steele as a senior
• Leads Cal in rushing as a senior with 700 yards and five touchdowns on the ground on 160 carries while also pacing the squad with 951 all-purpose yards and eight total touchdowns, while ranking second with 38 receptions for 251 yards and a team-high-tying three touchdown grabs as well as with 48 total points
• Has also completed both of his pass attempts for a total of 25 yards as a senior to give him a 205.00 passer rating and added one tackle
• An honorable mention All-Pac-12, Cal Bear Backers Offensive Team MVP and CoSIDA Academic All-District® selection as well as one of 10 national semifinalists for the Burlsworth Trophy as a 2017 junior when he set nearly all of his offensive career highs with 191 rushes, 1127 yards rushing and eight touchdowns on the ground, while adding 45 receptions and 322 yards receiving for 1449 all-purpose yards in addition to one touchdown catch
• A two-time Pac-12 All-Academic selection who picked up first-team honors as a junior after earning second-team recognition in his sophomore campaign
• Added CoSIDA Academic All-District® recognition as a junior
• Has served as one of Cal's season captains as both a junior and senior
• Hosted the Patrick Laird Summer Reading Challenge in 2018 with participants who completed the challenge receiving the opportunity to meet Laird following Cal's 2018 season-opening win over North Carolina at California Memorial Stadium and receiving up to four complimentary tickets to the game
• Had over 3,600 students sign up for the challenge and promoted the event thru social and traditional media, as well as during visits and speaking engagements with 23 schools and three camps in the Bay Area and his hometown area of Arroyo Grande on the Central Coast
• Published a series of #ReadWithPat videos with head coach Justin Wilcox, Director of Athletics Jim Knowlton, best-selling author Michael Lewis and UC Berkeley Chancellor Carol Christ