Wenzlick Nominated for 2019 Allstate AFCA Good Works Team
NORTHBROOK, Ill. – Michigan Tech senior wide receiver Jacob Wenzlick has been nominated for the 2019 Allstate AFCA Good Works Team®, announced this week by the American Football Coaches Association. The annual award is given to college football players for the impact they make off the field. A total of 137 student-athletes with inspiring stories of community service were nominated by their respective sports information directors.
Established in 1992, the Allstate AFCA Good Works Team® continues to be one of the most coveted community service awards in college football. From the 137 nominees, the final roster of 23 award recipients will be announced in September, bringing 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 a strong academic standing.
Wenzlick, who hails from Sanford, Michigan, is one of the 137 players nominated from across the country in all divisions. Wenzlick is very active in the local Houghton community, participating in reading programs at one of the local elementary schools where he visits classrooms and interacts with the kids through reading. Wenzlick has also helped with outside projects at the elementary school, including spreading mulch on the playground and doing general clean-up of branches and rocks to clear walking paths.
On Tech's campus, Wenzlick has participated in the annual Bounce-O-Rama event inside the Student Development Complex for all area youth. The event is sponsored by the Michigan Tech Teach Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and is a charity fundraiser which Tech student-athletes staff each year. Last summer, Wenzlick and the Tech football team helped fill sandbags for the World War I Memorial on campus.
On the field last year as a junior, Wenzlick was a 2018 Don Hansen Third Team All-American, a First Team All-Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference selection, Alan Bovard Most Valuable Player (MTU), Offensive Back of the Year (MTU), and Outstanding Offensive Player (MTU) following an outstanding 2018 season. Wenzlick led the Huskies with 872 receiving yards while ranking fourth in the GLIAC this past season. He shared the team lead in touchdown receptions with four, ranked third in the conference in receiving yards per game (87.2), and was second in the GLIAC in receptions per game (5.2). Wenzlick completed 2018 with 52 receptions, including a season long 67-yard touchdown catch in the 2018 opener at Truman State.
Wenzlick also caused havoc for opponents on special teams with his ability to return kicks. Wenzlick led the conference in both combined kick return yards (873) and in all-purpose yards per game at 180.60. His combined yardage total was third best in all of NCAA Division II while the all-purpose numbers ranked fourth in the nation. Wenzlick broke a single season school record for kickoff return yardage with 819 in 2018. The previous record was 778 which was set by Robert Haynes in 2007. He closed the 2018 campaign with 1,806 all-purpose yards.
In the classroom, Wenzlick has been a GLIAC All-Academic Excellence/Academic Team honoree in each of the last three seasons. Wenzlick is majoring in Mechanical Engineering at Michigan Tech. For his combined performance on the field and in the classroom, Wenzlick was selected to the 2018 Google Cloud Academic All-District® Football Team in NCAA Division II Super Region 3, picked by the College Sports Information Directors of America.
The final 22-member team and honorary coach is selected by a voting panel consisting of former Allstate AFCA Good Works Team® members and prominent media members who look for both their dedication to giving back and the embodiment of true leadership on and off the football field.
After the final team members are announced on September 12, 2019, fans can vote for this year's Allstate AFCA Good Works Team® captain through the official page on ESPN.com. Fans are also encouraged to join in the conversation by searching and using #GoodWorksTeam on their social media channels throughout the season.
The Huskies will open the 2019 season September 7th at Hillsdale for a 1 p.m. kickoff. The official AFCA press release can be viewed by clicking the link at the top of this release.