Toatley Named NEFWA Jerry Nason Award Winner
The Nason Award, given annually since 1958, is presented to the senior student-athlete who has succeeded in football against all odds
The New England Football Writers' Association announced senior football player Dan Toatley as the 2024 recipient of the NEFWA Jerry Nason Award. The Nason Award, given annually since 1958, is presented to the senior student-athlete who has succeeded in football against all odds. Toatley is the first Blue Devil football player to win the Jerry Nason Award.
"This award is a testament to Dan's strength and perseverance," said CCSU Director of Athletics Tom Pincince. "His success and growth here at Central are a true showcase of the role college athletics plays in the mission of higher education – academically, athletically and personally – to develop young men and women into future leaders. I am proud to have him as a Blue Devil!"
Toatley, a Trenton, NJ, is in his sixth year as a member of the CCSU football team. He joined the team as a walk-on during the 2019 campaign and worked himself to being named an All-NEC First Team selection following the 2023 season. He has played in 35 games over the past four seasons and enters the final weeks of the season with 134 career tackles, 27.5 tackles for loss and 17 sacks.
"Congratulations to Dan," said Blue Devils head football coach Adam Lechtenberg, "he is truly deserving of this honor. One of the pillars of our program is personal accountability, and that essentially means that all of us face adversity and most of the time we do not get a say in the level of adversity we face. Dan exemplifies that pillar; he has overcome enormous obstacles, and he still stands tall and proud in all areas of his life.
Over a 10-month stretch between 2021 and 2022, Toatley suffered the deaths of both his father and brother. Those devastating experiences inspired Toatley to find a way to honor his family members. The CCSU football team sponsors a marrow drive on campus every year, where students, faculty and staff have a cheek swab performed. Toatley matched with a patient in need last winter and on February 24, 2024, underwent the procedure to harvest his marrow at Medstar Georgetown University Hospital. After the procedure, Toatley could not participate in any physical activities or team workouts for a month.
Toatley is the second Blue Devil football player, joining Mike Mushaw, and at least the sixth from the New Britain campus, to match with a patient and donate bone marrow through the drives on campus.
Toatley also excels in the classroom. He earned his degree in Criminology with a 3.56 GPA and is currently enrolled in the Criminal Justice program in the Central graduate school. That success, coupled with his prowess on the field contributed to him being named a finalist for the 2024 FedEx Doris Robinson Scholar-Athlete Award, presented annually and honors an FCS student-athlete who exemplifies excellence on the field, in the classroom and across the community. The values embody the leadership and integrity championed by Doris Robinson, a former schoolteacher and the wife of legendary Grambling State University coach Eddie Robinson.
The Nason Award will be presented to Toatley at the New England Football Writers Captains and Awards Banquet on Thursday, December 12, at the Sheraton Framingham (Mass.) Hotel and Conference Center.
