One Arkansas Football Player Has Shot At National Honor

Your Vote Can Help Secure Team Captain for an Arkansas Football Player

Henderson State’s Kevin Rodgers was named to the 2013 Allstate American Football Coaches Association Good Works Team announced Tuesday, and he will be going to New Orleans to assist with a community service project in conjunction with the 2014 Sugar Bowl.  He will be introduced at halftime at the Sugar Bowl.

Sporting Life Arkansans, we can help him become THE TEAM CAPTAIN of the AllState/AFCA Good Works Team. Only 22 players in all of college football in all divisions are on this prestigious team.

If Kevin Rodgers is selected as the team captain, he could be the feature story during the Sugar Bowl television broadcast at halftime. This story will feature Rodgers, Henderson State University and the sporting life of the state of Arkansas.

You can vote once per day until November 11 by clicking here early and daily.

Remember to vote each day and please pass this information on to other you know.

Allstate Insurance Company and the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) released its 22-player roster for the 2013 Allstate AFCA Good Works Team®.  Recognizing the “good works” of a select group of college football players from across the country, the Allstate AFCA Good Works Team® is one of the most prestigious off-the-field honors in college sports.  The award pays tribute to the positive impact these young athletes have had on their communities and the lives of others.

Rodgers, a 2012 Harlon Hill Trophy candidate, was the only Great American Conference student-athlete nominated for the 2013 Allstate AFCA Good Works Team®. He is one of only three players from NCAA Division II institutions and is the only player from an Arkansas playing institution to receive this prestigious honor.

Last season, Rodgers unanimously claimed the GAC Offensive Player of the Year award. He threw for 4,002 yards and 41 touchdowns and earned two national Player of the Week honors and the Beyond Sports College Network named him an All-American. Rodgers was named GAC Offensive Player of the Week a record six times and averaged a national best 14.77 yards per pass completion and 9.78 yards per pass attempt.

This season, Rodgers earned Offensive Player of the Week for the eighth time in his 20-game career. Rodgers has thrown 11  touchdowns which leads NCAA Division II. Rogers also leads the nation in passing yards (848) and points responsible for (66).

The junior signal caller has a career total of 61 touchdown passes in 20 games and has gone over the 300-yard mark 11 times in his career improving his career average yards per game to 306.

In order to meet the criteria set forth by Allstate and the AFCA, each player must be actively involved and committed to working with a charitable organization, service group or community service while maintaining a strong academic standing.

Aside from his astonishing play on the field, Rodgers has also excelled in the classroom. Majoring in business finance, Rodgers carries a 3.8 grade point average.

Rodgers is an active member in HSU’s Baptist Collegiate Ministries (BCM) and has been on several mission trips. He has traveled throughout the south lending a helping hand to those in need.

“Kevin’s character is beyond reproach,” said Henderson State Coach Scott Maxfield. “He does not cut corners, or take short cuts. His work ethic is second to none, and he does not shy away from a challenge. He spends much of his free time away from football volunteering for many worthwhile organizations and causes in our area.”

Rodgers also assists in the Reddie to Serve Day, a community clean-up program; the Reddie to Read program in the Arkadelphia public schools; and the Reddie to Teach program, which conducts sports clinics at the Arkadelphia Parks and Recreation Department.

Rodgers, along with members of the Reddie football team, participates each year in the Reddie Football Blood Drive, assists at the local humane society, and has helped local schools and community centers with the building of playgrounds.

“I really enjoy helping others,” said Rodgers. “Knowing that you made a difference in someone’s life is one of the most rewarding feelings one can have. I am fortunate to be in a position to be a positive influence on others and that is my mission.”

Rodgers and his fellow award recipients will be invited to New Orleans to take part in a community project leading up to the 2014 Allstate® Sugar Bowl®.

Nick Finley was the first Reddie named to the Allstate/American Football Coaches Association Good Works Team®. The defensive tackle earned the award in 2008.

Finley was the only representative from Arkansas as well as the Gulf South Conference chosen to the team, and was one of just three players from NCAA Division II.

For more than two decades, the Allstate AFCA Good Works Team® has recognized college football players at all levels of the sport for inspiring acts of service and off-the-field achievements. This summer, the program received a record 150 nominations from colleges and universities across the country.  From the nominations, an esteemed voting panel comprised of former Allstate AFCA Good Works Team® members and college football media selected 11 players from the Football Bowl Subdivision and 11 players from the Football Championship Subdivision, Divisions II, III and the NAIA to comprise the 22-player team.

This year’s Allstate AFCA Good Works Team® boasts some of the most impressive service resumes in the award’s 22-year history.  From building houses overseas, to founding a mentorship program for at-risk youth, to serenading cancer patients at the local children’s hospital, this unique group of young men continues to raise the bar for the impact that student-athletes can have on their peers, teammates and communities.

“The AFCA, along with our partner Allstate, has been honoring football student-athletes for their good works, volunteerism and community service for 22 years with the Allstate AFCA Good Works Team,” Grant Teaff, AFCA Executive Director said. “The 2013 class of Good Works Team members is another great example of the outstanding athletes, and even better men, that our nation’s college football programs produce each year.”

Fans can vote for the 2013 Allstate AFCA Good Works Team® Captain by visiting ESPN.com and searching “Good Works.”  There, fans can learn more about this year’s team members and vote for the player who they feel represents the “best of the best” in the areas of giving back and contributing to the greater good of their communities.

The 2013 Allstate AFCA Good Works Team® voting panel includes: former Good Works Team® members Zaid Abdul-Aleem (Duke, 1994 team), Matt Stinchcomb (Georgia, 1997, 1998 teams), Brian Brenberg (St. Thomas, 2001 team), Mike Proman (Amherst, 2002 team); media members Lou Holtz (ESPN), Kirk Herbstreit (ESPN), Tom O’Toole (USA Today), Blair Kerkhoff (Kansas City Star); current AFCA President and University of Texas Head Coach Mack Brown; 1987 AFCA President LaVell Edwards, former head coach at Brigham Young University; and Cynthia Whitfield, field vice president of Allstate’s Southern Region.

The following players have been selected to the 2013 Allstate AFCA Good Works Team®:

Football Bowl Subdivision (I-A)
Name                          Cl.        Pos.     School                                     Hometown
Fred Lee                      Sr.       WR      Buffalo                                    Chester, S.C.
Nick Forbes                Jr.        LB        California                                 Frederick, Md.
Jordan Luallen            Sr.       FB       Cincinnati                                Greenwood, Ind.
Dave Harding              Sr.       OL       Duke                                       Orlando, Fla.
Jacob Karam             Sr.       QB       Memphis                                 Friendswood, Texas
Stephen Morris           Sr.       QB       Miami (Fla.)                             Miami, Fla.
C.J. Zimmerer            Sr.       RB       Nebraska                                Omaha, Neb.
Asa Watson                Sr.       TE       North Carolina State               Rock Hill, S.C.
Jeff Budzien               Sr.       PK       Northwestern                          Hartland, Wis.
Eric Soza                   Sr.       QB       Texas at San Antonio             Beeville, Texas
Carey Spear              Sr.       PK       Vanderbilt                                Mayfield Village, Ohio

Football Championship Subdivision (I-AA), Divisions II, III and NAIA
Name                          Cl.        Pos.     School                                     Hometown
Tyler Simmons           Sr.       DE       Aurora                                     Crystal Lake, Ill.
J.D. Mehlhorn             Sr.       DB       Bethel (Minn.)                         Lakeville, Minn.
Curt Duncan              Sr.       PK       Carson-Newman                    Morristown, Tenn.
Ryan Cobb                  Jr.        TE       Delaware                                 Saddle River, N.J.
Miles Williams             Jr.        DB       Elon                                         Roebuck, S.C.
Kevin Rodgers          Jr.        QB      Henderson State                   Rockwall, Texas
David Brackett            Sr.       OL       Kenyon                                    Ahoskie, N.C.
Jordan Sitzmann         Sr.       P          Morningside                            Le Mars, Iowa
Jordan Reid               Sr.       QB       North Carolina Central            High Point, N.C.
Winston Wright            Sr.       DB       South Dakota State                Lee’s Summit, Mo.
Bo Cordell                  Sr.       QB       Tusculum                                Cincinnati, Ohio