Aaron Taylor is back in South Bend and tonight he gave the Keynote speech at the 33rd Moose Krause Memorial Scholar-Athlete dinner.

Taylor, a 1993 Lombardi winner as the nation's top offensive lineman, graduated from Notre Dame in just 3 and a half years with a steller GPA. He is currently a broadcaster for ESPN and ABC.

Taylor received the Distinguished American Award but was quick to point out the night was not about him, but about the 16 outstanding scholar-athletes who have excelled both in the classroom and on the field.

Taylor said recognizing student-athletes is important because younger kids can see there is more to being an athlete than just being an athlete. He said being a member in the community and being a great student can take an athlete to the next level.

Long-time New Prairie football coach Bart Curtis received the Contributions to Football Award.

The 16 student-athletes award winners are:
James Byers (Jimtown): Two-year Football starter, 3.89 GPA.

Zachary DuBois (Jimtown): Won 4 letters in football, 2 in baseball, and 2 in golf; 3.98 GPA---Drama Club (lead in senior play).

Scott Harman (Warsaw): football, basketball, and track; Academic All-State, will major in mechanical engineering at Purdue.

Mitchell Huber (Bremen): Two-year starter at WR and DB; 2nd in class of 95.

Tyler James (LaPorte): All-State Lineman; Ranked 19th of 430 students.

Koby Keck (New Prairie); football, baseball; President of Senior Class and Student Council.

Neill Li (Penn): Starting Offensive Tackle; ranked 22nd in class of 655.

Michael McMahon (Marian): Baseball Captain, football; Ranked 10th in class of 190.

Jeremy Miller (Concord): Two-way lineman and 3-year letter winner; 3.84 GPA.

Drew Neeser (St. Joseph): Football; ranked 35th in class of 185.

Ryan Orlowski (S.B. Washington): Soccer, golf, football; Quiz Bowl, Science Olympiad.

Christopher Taylor (Elkhart Memorial): Football; ranked 15th of 371 students, VP of Senior Class.

Mike Thomas (Marian): All-State Quarterback, basketball, track; Math Tutor and works for St. Joe community services.

Andrew Wiand (S.B. Riley): 3-Year Quarterback, swimmer, baseball; Ranked #1 in class of 286. Active in South Bend Symphony and won grand prize as young artist (cellist) as a Senior.

Nick Yoder (Concord): Football, baseball, track; Ranked #1 in class of 354, awarded National Merit Letter.

Shawn Yoder (Northwood): Football, baseball; Ranked #! in class of 185.