North Carolina center Christo Kelly is in the mix for one of college football’s most respected academic honors.
The National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame announced Wednesday that Kelly has been named a semifinalist for the 2026 William V. Campbell Trophy. The award, now in its 37th year, honors the nation’s top football scholar-athlete for academic achievement, football performance and leadership.
This year’s semifinalist pool is a record 206 players, and the group comes with plenty of credentials: a 3.64 average GPA, 130 team captains, 24 All-Americans and 98 players who have already earned their undergraduate degrees.
Kelly checks plenty of those boxes himself. He earned his undergraduate degree in economics from Holy Cross in 2024 with a 3.6 GPA and is now working toward a Master of Business Administration at North Carolina. He has also become a key voice in the Tar Heels’ locker room, serving as a team captain in both 2025 and 2026.
His football path at Carolina has been interrupted, though. Kelly opened last season as North Carolina’s starting center before an injury sidelined him for most of the year.
Before arriving in Chapel Hill, he spent his college career at Holy Cross, where he started 23 games. In 2024, he started all 12 games at center and picked up First Team All-Patriot League and Academic All-Patriot League honors.
He was also one of 22 student-athletes across college football selected to the 2024 AFCA Allstate Good Works Team. Kelly had previously earned Academic All-District honors in 2023 and was a four-time Patriot League Academic Honor Roll selection.
Kelly’s work away from the field has also stood out. He serves as president of UNC’s Uplifting Athletes chapter, which earned the Game Changers Award in 2025 for the funds raised during the program’s Lift for Life event in support of rare diseases. His community involvement has included visits to UNC Children’s Hospital, Habitat for Humanity, TABLE, SECU House and local elementary schools.
The next step comes Oct. 21, when the NFF will announce 12 to 16 finalists. Each finalist will receive an $18,000 postgraduate scholarship as part of the 2026 NFF National Scholar-Athlete Class Presented by Fidelity Investments. Those finalists will then head to the Bellagio Resort & Casino in Las Vegas for the 68th NFF Annual Awards Dinner Presented by Las Vegas on Dec. 8, where the class will be recognized before one winner is named and his scholarship is raised to $25,000.
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UNC Already Has 3 Breakout Stars Fans Need To Notice
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On the offensive side, tight end Thurman has stepped into the mix at an important time after the injury to projected starter Jaxxon Warren, becoming a more reliable part of the passing game. For a team still sorting out its identity this early in the season, those kinds of breakout performances matter because they can help stabilize both sides of the ball while the Tar Heels use the bye week to reset and prepare for what comes next. [Read more 🡒]