The Sam Foltz scholarship is presented annually to a football team member who embodies Sam’s traits of leadership and excellence in both the classroom and the community.
2022 Sam Foltz Memorial Scholarship
Omar Manning
“Man truly an honor, Mr. Foltz and your words were greatly appreciated by all the guys and I! I’ll always hold this near and dear.”
2021 Sam Foltz Memorial Scholarship
Ben Stille
“The Sam Foltz Memorial Scholarship was the most meaningful scholarship I received from my time at Nebraska. I was a teammate of Sam’s for a brief time before he passed during my freshman season in 2016. He was an obvious leader of the team from the moment we stepped on campus. His work ethic, humility, and willingness to serve were second to none. Having gotten to know Sam’s parents, Jill and Gerald, since Sam’s passing has been a privilege and is a relationship I will cherish the rest of my life. I could not be more honored to have received a scholarship in memory of such an extraordinary person.”
2020 Sam Foltz Memorial Scholarship
Dicaprio Bootle
Dicaprio Bootle was named the 2020 Sam Foltz Memorial Scholarship recipient.
Dicaprio started every game at cornerback as a senior, stretching his streak to 32 consecutive starts. Dicaprio finished with 25 tackles, a half tackle for loss, five pass breakups and one interception as a senior. He was named an honorable-mention All-Big Ten selection by the media. Dicaprio totaled 26 pass breakups in his career, a total which ranked ninth in Nebraska history upon the completion of the 2020 season.
2019 Sam Foltz Memorial Scholarship
Jack Stoll
“Winning the Sam Foltz scholarship was one of the highlights of my Nebraska career. It didn’t just mean that I was doing my part on the field by producing on Saturdays (a lot of guys were doing that), it meant that you were someone who was respected by your teammates, coaches, and the football community in general at Nebraska. It meant that you could be relied on to accomplish whatever was needed by the coaching staff, it meant that you were one of the boys in the locker room who everyone could lean on when they needed someone and when they just needed a boy to chop it up with, it meant you could be trusted to do the right thing when you were outside the facility, and it meant you always took care of business the right way.
I was never lucky enough to get to know Sam too well during his time at Nebraska, but from all the stories I’ve heard, he embodies what a Nebraska football player should be. He embodied everything described above and then some. He was what people in the football as “a dude.” To be given an award with his name on it was a huge blessing and I only hope to live life the way he did, fearlessly.”
2018 Sam Foltz Memorial Scholarship
Peyton Newell
“Receiving the Sam Foltz Scholarship Award has been the greatest accomplishment in my life. What Sam represents is how every human being should represent themselves in their life. He was a man of high character and humbleness. Sam gave his all at everything he did and did it with passion and a smile on his face. Every child should grow up striving to be like he was. The world would be one amazing place to be in if there were more individuals like Sam Foltz. I am humbled and honored to this day to have received this award. Sam will always have a special place in my heart.”
2017 Sam Foltz Memorial Scholarship
Chris Weber
“I feel incredibly fortunate to have called Sam a teammate and friend. When I walked-on at Nebraska, Sam provided the perfect example for the type of player and person I wanted to be. His unmatched work ethic allowed him to become an expert at his craft, but he never let his success on the field change how he treated other people. Sam made everyone feel important no matter your role on the team. It is an incredible honor to have received the Sam Foltz Memorial Scholarship and there is not a day that goes by that I don’t think about Sam and the legacy that he continues to leave.”
2016 Sam Foltz Memorial Scholarship
Drew Brown
“Sam was an exceptional teammate and friend to everyone around him. There is no doubt in my mind that my career would have been much different without his incredible impact on me as a player and more importantly as a person. I hope that one day, I can instill the same values he had into my kids. It was an honor being awarded a memorial scholarship in Sam’s name, and something I will remember for the rest of my life. Dream Big. Work Hard. Stay Humble.”