NEWS

NORTHBROOK, Ill., – Malik McDaniel of the Davidson football team has been nominated for the 2023 Allstate AFCA Good Works Team® as announced by the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) Tuesday morning.

Recommended by their head coaches, the nominees are 136 student-athletes with exemplary community service, academic dedication and impact on and off the field.

McDaniel, a rising junior from Bartlett, Tenn., is the eighth Wildcat to appear on the ballot in the last 10 years, following Quentin James, who earned a spot on the 2022 Good Works Team.

As a member of Davidson’s Bonner Scholars Program, McDaniel is one of 20 students on campus, who work to bring positive community change with service, research and action. Through this program, he volunteers twice a week as a teacher’s aide in a local seventh grade classroom.

In addition to serving as Davidson’s campus leader of Young Life, which involves weekly meetings with local high school students as well as group meetings twice a week, McDaniel recently traveled with Davidson’s Campus Outreach organization to England to lead an American football camp in London.

McDaniel has also spent countless hours serving as a counselor as well as volunteering with church groups, including with Room in the Inn, an organization with Davidson College Presbyterian Church, which creates pop-up shelters for the homeless during the winter.

On the field, McDaniel is a two-year starter on an offensive line that has helped pave the way for the number one rushing attack in the nation.

A Panel Chooses the Team
The final 22-member team and honorary coach are selected by a voting panel of former Allstate AFCA Good Works Team members, current and former head coaches and journalists. They look for exceptional leadership on and off the football field.

In addition to Tebow and Hawkes, the 2023 Allstate AFCA Good Works Team selection panel members are: Zaid Abdul-Aleem (Duke, 1994 team); Matt Stinchcomb (Georgia, 1997, 1998); Brian Brenberg (St. Thomas, 2001); Mike Proman (Amherst, 2002); Wes Counts (Middle Tennessee State, 1999); media members Kirk Herbstreit (ESPN); Blair Kerkhoff (Kansas City Star); and Paul Myerberg (USA Today); 2023 AFCA President and Ouachita Baptist University Head Coach Todd Knight; and 2014 AFCA President and former head coach at Ithaca College, Mike Welch.

Fans Pick the Captain
After the final team members are announced in September, fans can vote for this year’s Allstate AFCA Good Works Team captain through the official page on ESPN.com/allstate. Fans can join the conversation on social media with #GoodWorksTeam throughout the season.

“These players embody the best of what college football stands for: character, selflessness and the willingness to serve and give to others,” AFCA Executive Director Todd Berry said. “The AFCA proudly stands alongside Allstate and each of these players’ families and communities to applaud their inspirational work.”

Nomination Criteria
Established in 1992, the Allstate AFCA Good Works Team is one of the most coveted community service awards in college football. From the 135 nominees, the final roster of 23 award recipients will bring together 11 players from the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision; 11 players from the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision, Divisions II, III and the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA); and one honorary head coach. To be considered for a spot on the Allstate AFCA Good Works Team, each player must be actively involved with a charitable organization or service group while maintaining strong academic standing.