[inpost_fancy thumb_width="200" thumb_height="200" post_id="575" thumb_margin_left="0" thumb_margin_bottom="0" thumb_border_radius="2" thumb_shadow="0 1px 4px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2)" id="" random="0" group="0" border="" show_in_popup="0" album_cover="" album_cover_width="200" album_cover_height="200" popup_width="800" popup_max_height="600" popup_title="Gallery" type="fancy" sc_id="sc1423762057479"]
Cole Barclay was chosen by the Tallahassee Quarterback Club Foundation, Inc., the creator and sponsor of the Biletnikoff Award presented annually to college football's outstanding receiver regardless of position, as one of the thirteen remarkably talented North Florida high school seniors of high character as Foundation Scholars. Barclay is the son of Kevin and Leslie Barclay of Greenville. He is a senior at Aucilla Christian Academy. His AP Language and Composition teacher, Mona Lewis, wrote a letter of recommendation for him to receive this award. "I am so excited by this opportunity that Cole has been given!" said Lewis. "I cannot wait to see how he takes advantage of it in this next chapter of his life." The Foundation will provide substantial scholarships and other benefits to the thirteen outstanding young men and women, who have overcome significant emotional, mental, physical, and environmental barriers to achieve at the highest academic and extracurricular levels. Last year, the Foundation provided over $800,000 in benefits to sixteen scholars. These thirteen seniors were recognized at the 21st annual Biletnikoff Award Banquet on Saturday, Feb. 7, at the University Center Club at Tallahassee's Doak Campbell Stadium before a sold-out audience of 550 patrons. Former college and NFL quarterback Joe Theismann, one of America's outstanding speakers, delivered the keynote address. The banquet, hailed by many as "the best in college sports," also witnessed the presentation of the Biletnikoff Award trophy, the most beautiful in college sports, to Amari Cooper. Foundation Chairman Charles Hopkins commented, "These thirteen students will become important leaders in the Florida and America of the 21st century!" Scholarship Committee Co-Chairman Tom Cox, Jr., remarked, "Foundation designations for scholarship awards are the most coveted in Florida, as the competition is fierce due to the large number of very high quality applicants and the fact that the requirements to be so designated are extraordinarily rigorous." "In fact, the overall quality of applicants has never been higher and the distinction of those ranked among the top 20 in the applicant pool is the most outstanding in our 21 years' history. The quality of the scholars and our trustees' drive to serve others is a powerful incentive for our highly successful fundraising, which established another record in 2015," noted Fundraising Chairman and Founding Trustee Walter Manley, II.