NATCHITOCHES -- One of college football's top individual awards, the Wuerffel Trophy, and an LSU standout who was the 2005 recipient, Rudy Niswanger, will make a pair of appearances in Natchitoches Wednesday and will speak to the Northwestern State football team.
 
Niswanger will greet visitors and make brief remarks, and the trophy will be on display Wednesday evening in a free reception from 5-6:30 at the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame and Northwest Louisiana History Museum at 800 Front Street, at the traffic circle.
 
The public is invited. The event is a Natchitoches Area Chamber of Commerce "After Hours" reception with wine, cheese and refreshments available. It is co-sponsored by FLASH (Friends of Louisiana Sports and History) and the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame Foundation.
 
Northwestern State alumnus and former Demon golfer Tom Brassell, the executive director of the Wuerffel Trophy, will introduce Niswanger earlier Wednesday at the weekly Demon Quarterback Club luncheon in the Stroud Room of the NSU Athletic Fieldhouse. The buffet lunch carries a $10 fee.
 
Niswanger, who started 31 NFL games at center for the Kansas City Chiefs, will speak to the Demon football team at 2 p.m. Wednesday, and to other NSU student-athletes at 7 Wednesday evening.
 
The Wuerffel Trophy, known as "College Football's Premier Award for Community Service," is presented annually by the All Sports Association in Fort Walton Beach. Named after 1996 Heisman Trophy winning quarterback Danny Wuerffel, from the University of Florida, the Wuerffel Trophy is awarded to the player who best combines exemplary community service with athletic and academic achievement.
 
Niswanger, a Monroe native, was a 2005 LSU team captain and a second-team All-Southeastern Conference selection. Along with winning the Wuerffel Trophy, he was awarded the Draddy Trophy, now known as the William V. Campbell Trophy, given by the National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame to the college senior who best combines academic achievement, community service and on-field performance.
 
He played in the NFL for the Chiefs from 2006-10, playing in 56 games in his pro career.
 
Niswanger will make brief remarks around 5:45-6 p.m. at the museum reception.
 
His appearance comes during the week the LSU football team hosts Alabama in a prime-time contest Saturday night in Tiger Stadium.
 
The Hall of Fame museum is located at 800 Front Street, at the traffic circle on the north end of the brick-paved thoroughfare. It is open daily Tuesday-Saturday from 10 a.m.-4:30 p.m.