Foursome Selected To 2022 NFF Hampshire Honor Society

IRVING, Tex. – The National Football Foundation & College Football Hall of Fame (NFF) announced Wednesday that four former student-athletes from the 2021 Cal football team – Elijah Hicks, Matt Horwitz, Collin Moore and Sami Nazzal – have been selected to the 2022 NFF Hampshire Honor Society, which is comprised of college football student-athletes from all divisions of play who each maintained a cumulative undergraduate 3.2 GPA or better throughout their collegiate careers. Selections must have completed their final season of collegiate eligibility in 2021. Student-athletes who have graduated or turned professional and are not returning to collegiate football are among the selections.

Below are notes on each of the four former Cal football student-athletes selected with extended bios available by clicking on their names.
 
Elijah Hicks, S, 5-11, 200, Long Beach, CA (Cal/La Mirada HS/St. John Bosco HS)
— Racked up the honors as a 2021 senior by winning the Pop Warner College Football Award, while earning third-team All-American (Pro Football Focus) and first-team All-Pac-12 (Associated Press, Jon Wilner's College Football Hotline, Pac-12 Coaches, Pro Football Focus) recognition, as well as being a semifinalist for the Campbell Trophy, Jason Witten Collegiate Man Of The Year and Wuerffel Trophy
— Also Cal's nominee for the 2021 Pac-12 Football Scholar-Athlete of the Year and Capital One Orange Bowl-FWAA Courage Award, as well as a selection for the East-West Shrine Bowl
— Six-time game captain as a 2021 senior including each of the team's final three contests (Nevada, at Oregon, Oregon State, at Stanford, at UCLA, USC) when he started all 12 games and paced the team while co-leading the Pac-12 with a career-high four forced fumbles and 0.33 forced fumbles per game (#T11 NCAA)
— Also co-led Cal's 2021 squad with a career-high three interceptions that tied for third in the Pac-12, while he was second on the team with 72 tackles and added 5.5 tackles for loss (-15 yards), 1.0 sack (-8 yards) and two pass breakups, with the tackles, tackles for loss and tackle for loss yards all career highs
— The only Cal player to participate in all 54 games possible over five seasons from 2017-21 with 46 starts and finished his career with 213 tackles, 14.5 tackles for loss (-40 yards), 3.0 sacks (-15 yards), five interceptions that he returned for 66 yards and one touchdown, 14 pass breakups and six forced fumbles
— A member of the AFCA All-State Good Works Team® as a 2020 junior
— Graduated from Cal in December of 2020 with a bachelor's degree in American studies before adding graduate certificates in the school's programs in entrepreneurship (May 2021) and business administration (December 2021)
 
Matt Horwitz, OLB, 6-4, 235, Los Angeles, CA (University HS)
— Got into four games as a 2021 senior and recorded a tackle on the kickoff cover team in his first collegiate contest at TCU before after having not played in his first four campaigns of his five-season career at Cal from 2017-21
— Suffered a career-ending injury after playing in four games as a 2021 senior
— Graduated from Cal in May of 2021 with a bachelor's degree in business administration before adding a graduate certificate in business administration in December of 2021
 
Collin Moore, TE, 6-4, 245, Novato, CA (San Marin HS)
— Played in 28 career games with 12 starts and had 13 catches for 72 yards with one touchdown over his final four seasons after greyshirting in 2016 and redshirting in his first campaign at Cal in 2017
— Had career highs of eight receptions and 32 yards receiving in 12 games as a 2021 senior
— Had his lone career touchdown catch during his 2019 sophomore campaign in the Redbox Bowl against Illinois
— Twice earned Cal's Dink Artal Award as the Special Teams Scout Team Player of the Year as a 2017 true freshman and 2018 redshirt freshman
— Began his Cal career as a walk-on quarterback before being switched to tight end as a true freshman
— Graduated from Cal with a bachelor's degree in political economy in May of 2020 and on track to earn a master's degree in public health in December of 2022
 
Sami Nazzal, OL, 6-3, 275, San Francisco, CA (City College of San Francisco/Sacred Heart Cathedral Prep)
— One of nine football student-athletes and the lone junior college transfer who were mid-year enrollees in January of 2020 and participated with the team during its four spring practices before the COVID-19 pandemic cut spring ball short  
— Graduated from Cal in May of 2021 with a bachelor's degree in American studies