Student Nominated For 'Heart Of A Giant' Award In Morristown

MORRISTOWN, NJ — The second set of nominees for the 2022 USA Football Heart of a Giant Award is open for voting, and Morristown High School’s own William Galligan has been nominated — in fact, he's the only Morris County resident on the list.

The award is presented annually by Hospital for Special Surgery and the NY Giants after several rounds of voting for outstanding high school football players in the Tri-State area.

Students are nominated by their coaches for commitment, teamwork, will, character and dedication.

Galligan, who was raised by a youth football coach was diagnosed with AML Leukemia when he was two years old. "I was in the hospital under chemotherapy for 6 months. After that, I had to go to the doctor, at least three times a year until I was seven."

After receiving his diagnosis, Galligan claimed that football allowed him to vent his frustrations regarding the endless appointments. "Now football is just a place where I can do the same thing but for other stuff other than cancer, it allows me to have a release from the stress and pressures of school."

The voting period for this first set of nominees is now open until Oct. 2, with the final vote tally determining who will be named the group’s finalist.

Eleven people will be honored in total, made up of six weekly finalists and five wild card finalists. For their high school's football program, each finalist will receive $1,000, and the grand prize winner's school will also receive an additional $4,000 in funding.

The grand prize winner will be chosen from entries that include videos explaining why they possess the Heart of a Giant.

"I challenge myself both academically and athletically, and I excel in both. Athletically, I am not the biggest, fastest, or strongest kid however I never give up and go all out every play. In order to succeed in the field, I have to make up for my, for lack of a better word, lack of athleticism, by outworking everyone on the field," Galligan said.