David Ubben of The Athletic is the recipient of the first Edward Aschoff Rising Star Award, which is named after the beloved ESPN college football reporter who died last Christmas Eve on his 34th birthday from previously undetected Stage 4 non-Hodgkin lymphoma in his lungs. In honor of Aschoff, whom ESPN senior vice president Rob King called a "ray of light," the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) decided to recognize one promising journalist no older than 34 who has not only the talent and work ethic it takes to succeed in the business, but also the passion to make it better. Aschoff, a 2008 graduate of the University of Florida, was a talented storyteller, whether he was on camera or crafting a written piece. And even as his career at ESPN blossomed into more of a national television role when he moved to Los Angeles in 2017, he still guided and befriended younger journalists along the way. Aschoff and Ubben were former colleagues at ESPN, working together when...