Georgia Southern freshman JD Kaiser has been awarded the first-ever Simmons Strong Scholarship.Kaiser, from Statesboro, was recognized and honored during the Georgia Southern football game Saturday night."JD is a hard working, humble, selfless young man who is an outstanding teammate and leader within our program and he is very deserving of this special honor,” says Georgia Southern Head Baseball Coach Rodney Hennon.Kaiser, a Business Management major, saw action at catcher in four games for the Eagles during the 2022 season. In a game against UT-Arlington, duringt his second collegiate at-bat, Kasier hit a home run to help lead the Eagles to victory."JD embodies many of the same qualities that Coach Simmons modeled and I know he would be very proud to see JD recognized for his efforts," added Hennon.The Simmons Strong Foundation is named in honor of long-time Statesboro and Effingham County High School coach and teacher Jim Simmons.Simmons passed away in March 2021 after a heroic battle with cancer.The Foundation was created to provide scholarships to local high school and college student-athletes that exemplify the values Jim Simmons lived throughout his life, and by giving financial assistance to community members experiencing hardships due to cancer treatment/diagnosis. For more information, contact: info@SimmonsStrong.org