Ex-Calhoun star Nash Nance wins Willie Lanier Award

Nash Nance gets ready to throw the ball in this file photo.
Nash Nance gets ready to throw the ball in this file photo.

When Nash Nance looks back on his college football playing career there was one consistent motivating factor. He just wanted to play.

The former Calhoun High School star quarterback, who spent two seasons at the University of Tennessee before transferring to Division III Hampden-Sydney College in Virginia, recently ended his run as a three-year starter by winning the Willie Lanier Award. That honor goes to the top player in Virginia playing below NCAA Division I, and to Nance it's vindication for making the difficult decision to leave UT and the Southeastern Conference.

"It's an awesome honor, and the coolest thing is in 20 or 30 years I can bring my kids back here and share it with them," said Nance, who in 2013 was named the South Region offensive player of the year. "It's been a great three years, and winning this award is just icing on the cake. The big honor is to be able to represent Hampden-Sydney and to know that these years are helping build a blueprint for future success.

"Looking back, I wouldn't have done anything differently."

The tree-time All-Old Dominion Athletic Conference selection passed for 2,967 yards and 29 touchdowns while also rushing for nine touchdowns this season, the third-best mark in the league. Nance finished his career with 80 touchdowns, the second-most in program history, the second-most completions with 699 and the third-most yards with 8,118.

Nance played Saturday in the D3 Senior Classic in Myrtle Beach, S.C., where scouts from the National Football League and Canadian Football League were in attendance. He will train with Bo Watts with Buckhead Elite Training, a group that trains several NFL stars such as Denver's Demaryious Thomas, to prepare for his pro day.

"It's going to be a busy time, but it's exciting," the 6-foot-4, 220-pound Nance said. "We'll do the pro day at William & Mary sometime in March and then see what happens."

He also will go back to Hampden-Sydney this next semester and finish work on his business economics and finance degree.

"I already have a lot of options in case football doesn't work out," he said. "Either way, I've had a great time and made some lifelong friends and memories."

Contact Lindsey Young at lyoung@timesfreepress.com or at 423-757-6296.

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