IRVING, Texas --- Tusculum University's Dexler Benjamin and Andrew Cantrell have been named to the 2022-23 National Football Foundation's Hampshire Honor Society.
Benjamin, an offensive lineman from Roswell, Georgia, has a 3.816 cumulative grade point average while majoring in pre-pharmacy. He is a two-time recipient of the Division II Athletic Directors Association Academic Achievement Award and is a member of the South Atlantic Conference Commissioner's Honor Roll, Athletic Director's Honor Roll, Dean's List, President's List and Charles Oliver Gray Honors List.
He played in nine career games on the Tusculum offensive line and was the 2019-20 recipient of the Tusculum Freshman of the Year Academic Award.
Cantrell, a punter from Sparta, Tennessee, graduated from Tusculum in May 2022 with a Bachelor of Science degree in chemistry and finished with a 3.7 GPA. He was a three-time Academic All-American® and is a member of the South Atlantic Conference Commissioner's Honor Roll, Athletic Director's Honor Roll, Dean's List and Charles Oliver Gray Honors List
Cantrell earned All-SAC Mountain Division first team honors last fall as he finished fifth in the league in punting, averaging 41.0 yards (27th in NCAA II) on his 58 punts. His 24 punts inside the 20 were second in the league and led the SAC with 20 fair catches. He tallied 13 punts over 50 yards including a career-long 70-yarder at Mars Hill, which is the seventh-longest in school history.
Cantrell finished his Tusculum career as the program's all-time leader in punt attempts (246), punting yards (9587) and punts inside the 20 (82). His career average of 39.0 yards per punt is the seventh-best average by a Pioneer.
The Pioneers went 8-3 on the season and finished runner-up in the SAC Mountain Division.
To qualify for membership in the NFF Hampshire Honor Society, a student-athlete must: be a starter or significant reserve in one's last year of eligibility at an accredited NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision, Football Championship Subdivision, Division II, Division III or an NAIA college or university; achieve a 3.2 cumulative grade point average throughout the entire course of undergraduate study; and meet all NCAA-mandated progress towards degree requirements.
Past Tusculum honorees named to the Hampshire Honor Society include: Nate Binder (2009), John Gregory (2009), Jarrell NeSmith (2009), Ryan Tallent (2009), Gareth Rowlands (2010), Kent Aigbe (2011), Brian Alexander (2013), Bo Cordell (2013) and Dameon Herring (2013), Max Gaubert (2015), Evan Altizer (2017), Hunter Cantrell (2017), Kelly Donnelly (2018), Benson Napier (2018), Christian Bell (2019), Will Boney (2019), Devin Woodson (2019), PJ Green (2019) and Jackson Cauthen (2020).
