While Oscar Gulledge’s time at Lebanon High School officially came to an end with graduation on June 4, he capped off his football-playing career a week prior to that with an exclamation point.
An All-State linebacker and team captain for the Raiders, Gulledge was recognized by the New Hampshire-based Joe Yukica Chapter of the National Football Foundation at its banquet late last month as one of its 38 scholar-athletes.
That’s not all, though: He was also the New Hampshire chapter’s nominee and representative on the NFF’s Team of Distinction and won the Donald E. York Scholarship Award, becoming the first player to be recognized with both honors.
Sixty-six athletes from around the country who are “the nation’s top high school scholar-athletes who represent the future leaders of the game and have excelled at the very highest levels in the classroom, on the field and by making an impact in their communities,” according to the NFF’s website, made the Team of Distinction.
The Donald E. York Scholarship Award recognizes an athlete in the chapter who is involved in their community and displays leadership and character.
Jim Lombardi, the chair of the New Hampshire chapter’s selection committee, noted that seniors from around the state are nominated by their coaches and then ultimately selected for the scholar-athlete honor based on criteria that include grades, on-field achievement and community work.
Those scholar athletes are then whittled down to one, who is the nominee for the Team of Distinction through a voting process. The Donald E. York Scholarship Award process follows a similar format.
“Oscar Gulledge, I have to say — one of the most impressive young men that I have had a chance to meet,” Lombardi said.
In a telephone interview, Gulledge — who also played some receiver and running back — said it came as a surprise to learn that he was the recipient of these honors, but it was no doubt to Lombardi and the selection committee that he was deserving.
In addition to his work on the gridiron, Gulledge held a 3.80 GPA, was a member of the National and Science Honor Societies, and captained the Raiders’ track and field team. He also played the trumpet and was band president.
As for how Gulledge was able to balance all he was involved in, he credited the structure at school and the joy he felt in the various activities he participated in.
“Even when the workload was tough — especially during football season with those extra-long practices — I was able to do it just because it was fun. It was enjoyable to experience so many different things every day — to go and be in the band and hang out with all those great people there and then hang out with all the great people on the football team,” Gulledge said.
“That variety, I think, really drove me every day — same with the track team during track season,” he added.
Recently retired Lebanon football coach Doug Johnson lauded Gulledge for what he did for the program, especially considering he had only started playing football as a sophomore.
“His ability to catch on to that game in such a short time was really remarkable,” Johnson said.
“He was just a great player and was a leader at all times. We had a very broken program four or five years ago, so we put real emphasis on bringing the young people and making our program better and leaving our program better than we found it. And Oscar did a terrific job in those areas.”
Whether it was athletics, academics or music, Johnson emphasized that Gulledge is “all gas, no brakes.”
“Every place he goes, he elevates everyone around him,” Johnson said.
The next stop for Gulledge will be Washington University in St. Louis. While he is undecided on a major, the incoming freshman said he is leaning toward something in social sciences and economics.
Athletically, Gulledge will not be buckling up the chinstrap again. He acknowledged that earning these NFF honors was a great way to close his football career, especially having his parents and Johnson in attendance at the banquet.
“It’s like, I’m making these people proud, or I’m doing my best to, and to see them like that after four years of doing this in high school and for my parents it’s even more than that — that was pretty special,” he said.
