MEDFORD, MA (December 2, 2024) – Senior quarterback Mike Berluti of the Tufts University football team has been selected as the Gridiron Club of Greater Boston's Nils V. "Swede" Nelson Award honoree for the 2024 season.
The award is given for excellence in athletics, academics, and sportsmanship. Berluti is the Divisions II/III recipient of the 78
th Annual Swede Nelson Award. Harvard University's Austin Gentle is the Bowl and Championship Division winner.
Berluti will be presented with the award at the Gridiron Club of Greater Boston's 2024 College Football Awards Night on December 16 at the Burlington Marriott Hotel.
The New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) All-Conference first team quarterback this fall, Berluti finished among the NCAA Division III's top 40 for total offense. He passed for 2052 yards and ran for 291 yards, an average of 260.3 yards of total offense per game.
In his three full seasons as the starting quarterback, Berluti led the Jumbos to a 19-8 record (.703) including a conference runner-up mark of 7-2 this fall. During his career, including his six starts as a freshman (4-2 record), he broke a program-best 10 school records and four NESCAC records. Among his career conference records are total offense (10,234 yards) and total touchdowns (passing and rushing) with 83. He was a two-time football captain and has also been on the Jumbo basketball team for two seasons.
Berluti is a Dean's List student as an economics major with a minor in entrepreneurship. He's a three-time NESCAC All-Academic Team selection for carrying a grade point average of 3.50 or higher. During the summer 2022 he studied at the London School of Economics in the Summer Business and Management Program.
Among his service activities, Berluti is a volunteer for the NaviGivesBack program which provides backpacks filled with necessary school supplies for under-served elementary school students. He's also a member of Jumbo Ventures which connects students with mentors and resources to assist with their new business ideas.
Berluti is the sixth Tufts University football player to receive the Swede Nelson Award. That includes his former teammate Mike Pedrini, the Jumbo most recently selected for the award in 2021.
"
Michael Berluti is richly deserving of this great honor," Tufts head coach
Jay Civetti said. "He had a really great year, and obviously an amazing career, but it's more than that. I was really proud of how he led our team this year. He likes competition and wants to do everything all the time, but he stepped back at times and gave other guys leadership opportunities. He really just enjoyed playing football this year."
In addition to Berluti's award, former Tufts Football head coach Bill Samko (1994-2010) is receiving the Gridiron Club's 2nd Annual Dick Lawrence Football Longevity Award.
--JUMBOS--
