IRVING, Texas – The National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame (NFF) announced that three Tennessee Volunteers were tabbed as members of the 2025 NFF Hampshire Honor Society. Will Brooks, Keenan Pili and Javontez Spraggins represented UT on the list of a record 2,532 players from 339 colleges and universities who qualified for membership in 2025.
 
Nominated by their respective schools, members of the NFF Hampshire Honor Society must meet one of the following criteria:

• Be a senior player graduating this spring/summer who completed his final year of playing eligibility in 2024; or
• Be a graduated player or grad transfer who has already earned a bachelor’s degree and competed in the 2024 season (even if the player has remaining eligibility and may return to play next season).

And must have:

• Attained a minimum undergraduate cumulative GPA of 3.2 (4.0 scale); and
• Been starters or contributors throughout the 2024 season.

The NFF Hampshire Honor Society capitalizes on the NFF’s National Scholar-Athlete program by greatly expanding the number of scholar-athletes the NFF can recognize each year. The program further strengthens the organization’s leadership role in encouraging academic performance by the student-athletes at the 772 colleges and universities with football programs nationwide.
 
Tennessee has totaled 14 NFF Hampshire Honor Society recognitions during the Josh Heupel era (2021-present). Pili and Spraggins join Jacob Warren as the only Vols to receive the distinction multiple times in their careers.
 
Brooks rounded out his five-year career as a cornerstone of the Tennessee defense this past fall, starting all 13 games at safety while ranking second on the team with 59 tackles and nine passes defended. The former walk-on was selected as a semifinalist for the 2024 Burlsworth Trophy and was a three-time member of the SEC Academic Honor Roll who earned his undergraduate degree in finance in May 2024.
 
Pili served as captain of the Tennessee defense during the 2024 campaign and demonstrated impactful leadership throughout his entire tenure on Rocky Top. The seventh-year senior linebacker started the first six games of the 2024 season before sustaining a season-ending injury and was later named a semifinalist for the NFF Campbell Trophy. A two-time SEC Academic Honor Roll recipient, Pili received his master’s degree in agricultural leadership, education and communication from Tennessee in May 2024.
 
Spraggins was a staple of the Tennessee offensive line in each of the past four seasons, holding down the right guard spot with 48 career starts. He produced an All-SEC campaign during his final season in Knoxville, starting all 13 contests for a unit that led the conference in rushing offense for the second straight year. The East St. Louis, Illinois, native was a five-time member of the SEC Honor Roll and two-time University of Tennessee graduate – earning his undergraduate degree in sociology before receiving his master’s in agricultural leadership, education and communication.