FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) Middle Tennessee defensive end and U.S. Marine veteran Steven Rhodes has been chosen the winner of the Armed Forces Merit Award.
A seven-person committee of Football Writers Association of America members and Armed Forces Bowl officials selected Rhodes from a group of 16 nominees. The announcement was made Friday.
Rhodes served five years in the Marines before joining Middle Tennessee's football program in 2013. He has made 27 career starts and has 29 tackles this season for the Blue Raiders.
The FWAA created this award in 2012. Previous winners include Texas' Nate Boyer in 2012, North Texas' Brandon McCoy in 2013 and Clemson's Daniel Rodriguez in 2014 and Westminster College's Bret Robertson in 2015.
All four were U.S. Army veterans who later played college football.
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