The Baltimore Ravens have nominated tight end Benjamin Watson for the Walter Payton Man of the Year award.

 

Watson is a former University of Georgia tight end for the Bulldogs football team where he played for former UGA head coaches Jim Donnan (2001) and Mark Richt (2002-2003)

The Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award was established in 1970 and recognizes an NFL player for his excellence on and off the field. The Man of the Year award was renamed in 1999 after the late, great Hall of Fame Chicago Bears running back, Walter Payton. Each NFL team nominates one player who best represents the Man of the Year award by having a significant and positive impact on the community. The only former Georgia Bulldog to win the award was Carolina Panther’s linebacker Thomas Davis in 2014.

Some of the work that Watson does off the football field can be seen through his One More Foundation, which was established in 2008, whose mission statement reads “carry the hope and love of Christ to those who need it most, while understanding that the best and most efficient way to reach people’s hearts is by first meeting their physical needs.” He also hosts the Big BENefit, an annual event that offers 25 families an opportunity to provide holiday gifts for their children, and he also does an annual Turkey Drop by donating 50 turkeys to Adopt-A-Block for the Thanksgiving holiday. In addition, Watson is also a published author, having his first work titled Under Our Skin: Getting Real About Race–And Getting Free From the Fears and Frustrations That Divide Us published by Tyndale House.

And that is just the tip of the iceberg. To find out more about Benjamin Watson’s work off the gridiron and the Walter Peyton Man of the Year Award: