FWAA Capital One Orange Bowl Courage Award News

Auburn kicker Alex McPherson is the 24th annual recipient of the Capital One Orange Bowl-FWAA Courage Award. McPherson overcame Crohn’s disease to become one of the nation’s most proficient kickers, returning to form after a nearly two-year battle that featured multiple different diagnoses and treatment plans that eventually allowed him to build back up strength and play football again.

Auburn’s Alex McPherson is this week’s nominee for the 2025 Capital One Orange Bowl-FWAA Courage Award. McPherson, a fourth-year junior, overcame Crohn’s disease to return to kicking for the Tigers this season.

Missouri State’s Connor Lair is this week’s nominee for the 2025 Capital One Orange Bowl-FWAA Courage Award. Lair, a redshirt junior fullback, beat stage four Hodgkin’s lymphoma to return to the field for the Bears.

North Carolina’s Max Johnson is this week’s nominee for the 2025 Capital One Orange Bowl-FWAA Courage Award. Johnson, a sixth-year senior quarterback, overcame a potentially debilitating knee injury to return to the field for the Tar Heels this season.

Michigan’s Ernest Hausmann is this week’s nominee for the 2025 Capital One Orange Bowl-FWAA Courage Award. Hausmann, a senior linebacker, has overcome numerous childhood hardships to develop into a captain for the Wolverines who has started his own charity and poured his heart into numerous causes for the underserved.

Army’s Larry Pickett Jr. is the first weekly nomination for the 2025 Capital One Orange Bowl-FWAA Courage Award. Pickett, a sophomore safety, rescued a man from a burning car earlier this season.