EAST LANSING, Mich. - Michigan State freshman quarterback Messiah deWeaver, who graduated from Wayne High School in Dayton, Ohio, last December, was presented the Franklin D. Watkins Memorial Award by the National Alliance of African-American Athletes as the nation’s top African-American male scholar-athlete from the 2016 senior class. deWeaver received the trophy during the 25th-annual Watkins Award Gala in Washington, D.C., on Saturday, March 12.
deWeaver participated in the 2016 Semper Fidelis All-American Bowl in Carson, California. A second-team Division I All-Southwest District selection in 2015, he accounted for 3,088 total yards and 35 touchdowns as a senior for Coach Jay Minton at Wayne High School.