Every year, the NC State football team names one player as a semi-finalist for the Campbell Trophy. As the National Football Foundation describes it, this award “recognizes an individual as the absolute best in the country for his academic success, football performance and exemplary community leadership.” Last year, the Wolfpack nominated offensive lineman Joe Thuney, who went on to be selected by the New England Patriots in the 2016 NFL Draft. This year, the team nominated graduate cornerback Jack Tocho.
Tocho is in his fourth and final year of eligibility with the team. After starting seven games as a freshman, he has been a full-time starter ever since, with the exception of injury issues last season. Off the field, he earned his degree in accounting in just three years, officially receiving it in May 2016. It’s been a long journey for Tocho, but his endeavors to improve have gotten him far with the team.
“It’s been a relentless effort to be better than I was the day before,” Tocho said. “Coming in as a freshman, as an underdog, you want to just move yourself. But it’s about your internal competition, not your external competition. Of course you have to compete against your teammates to earn a spot, but it’s more about focusing on yourself and having the right mindset each and every day. And that’s really changed over the years. As a senior, I’m more confident in my skills and abilities and being able to step on the field each day and improve.”
Throughout his career, he has earned many honors for his achievements on and off the field. Some of these accolades include the team’s Bob Warren Award for integrity and sportsmanship in 2015, being named to the Academic All-ACC teams his freshman and sophomore year and earning the Philip Rivers Award for Most Valuable Freshman in 2013, according to NC State Athletics.
When he was at Independence High School, he was named the school’s 2012 Scholar Athlete of the Year and the Co-Defensive Player of the Year for the Southwestern Conference, according to NC State Athletics. Despite all these achievements, Tocho believes that the nomination for the Campbell Trophy is among his highest honors.
“It ranks in the top five to be quite honest,” Tocho said. “Coming to college, one of my goals is to be able to graduate on time, and I was able to do that early. Aside from football and all the accolades I achieved from there, academically, just still being able to push the threshold and be able to achieve something like this is very admirable in my opinion. It is good for my parents to know I’m working as hard in the classroom as I am on the field.”
In addition to excelling on and off the field, perhaps Tocho’s biggest asset is his leadership ability. He is serving his third year on the football team’s leadership council, tied with junior guard Tony Adams and redshirt sophomore quarterback Jalan McClendon for the longest tenure on the council, and was selected as one of four team captains. Assistant head coach for the defense and cornerbacks coach George Barlow spoke highly of his leadership skills.
“He’s an exceptionally talented kid football-wise, but the biggest thing he brings is his leadership and his character,” Barlow said. “He’s an awesome kid, he loves the game, he plays the game how it’s supposed to be played. Like I said, the leadership part is the biggest thing he brings. He comes every day to work and is doing the right things on and off the field. That carries over to some of the young kids we have, so he’s not only making plays on the field, but he’s handling his business off the field which is even more impressive to me.”
While leaders don’t always come in the form of the most talented player, Tocho has a strong argument as to why he ranks as both. As a sophomore in 2014, he earned the team’s Dewayne Washington award for Defensive Back of the Year. So far this year, he leads the team in passes defended with six to go along with 23 tackles, two tackles for a loss, one sack and one interception.
“He has a gift to play the game,” Barlow said. “The thing that makes his gifts exceptional is that he does the little things right. His eyes are really good, where they’re supposed to be on a regular basis, he has the footwork and the hips to be good and the thing he’s doing a lot better than last year is he’s playing with consistent confidence, which puts him in position to make some of the plays he’s made this year.”
With Tocho and his fellow teammates’ strong play this season, he has high aspirations for both himself and his team as we reach the halfway mark of the season.
“My goals for this season are for us to go over 10 wins, win the ACC Championship,” Tocho said. “Personally, I want to be an All-ACC player and make a name for myself so I have the best chance to make it to the next level.”
With only two losses at this point of the season, 10 wins is still possible if the Pack is able to surprise with a few upsets, most notable the matchup against Louisville on Saturday. This is what Tocho and his teammates are focused on at the moment, but in the back of his mind, he is focused on long-term goals and a plan for life after football.
“After a pro career, I want to earn my CPA,” Tocho said. “I got a degree in accounting, and I want to be able to work at a firm and own my own firm. And I love shoes, so eventually I would like to own a shoe store.”
