WEST LONG BRANCH, NJ- Monmouth University fifth-year senior Ryan Wetzel (Freehold, NJ/Colts Neck) has been named as a nominee for the 2018 Allstate AFCA Good Works Team, the organization announced recently.

The Allstate AFCA Good Works Team has been one of the most esteemed honors in college football for more than 25 years. The student-athletes who are nominated for this award not only demonstrate a unique dedication to community service and desire to make a positive impact on the lives around them, but they also show tremendous perseverance as well as the ability to overcome personal struggles and come out victorious against all odds.  

Off the field Wetzel has spear headed almost every community service project that the Hawks are involved with. Most recently he was a key contributor of Monmouth's "Be the Match" campaign,  a national football program that helps match donors to patients to help end blood cancers. Wetzel and his teammates participate in the Schroth School for Children Holiday Party and Super Bowl Party where members of the Monmouth Football team hand out gifts during the holidays and hold a Super Bowl party before the game. He has been a participant in the 'Read Across America' program all four years he has been at Monmouth. Over the past year Ryan and his teammates have volunteered at the Ronald McDonald House on a biweekly basis, spending time with the children and helping set up fundraising events for the charity.

"We are very excited that Ryan has been nominated for the Allstate AFCA Good Works Team," said Head Coach Kevin Callahan. "Over the past four years he is always one of the first players to volunteer for community service, whether its running a donor match program, participating in our Team Impact program, reading to local children or spending time with the Ronald McDonald House of Central New Jersey. He does all of that while graduating with over a 3.0 grade point average, starting graduate school and playing at an all-conference level."

Wetzel has been a mainstay for the Hawks on the offensive line, appearing in 33 contests for the Blue & White, including 23 consecutive starts at right guard. In 2017 he was named First Team All-Big South as part of a unit that set a number of offensive school records, including total touchdowns and rushing yardage. Currently working towards his MBA he recently earned his degree in economics and finance, graduating with a 3.07 grade point average. He was recently named as a Third Team Preseason All-America selection by HeroSports.

The Allstate AFCA Good Works Team^® is comprised of 11 players from the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision and 11 players from the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision, Divisions II, III and the NAIA and one honorary head coach. To be in consideration by Allstate and the AFCA for a nomination, each player must be actively involved with a charitable organization or service group while maintaining a strong academic standing.  

"Each nominee has an inspiring story to tell – often times about how they have prevailed over hardships and adversity only to turn around and pour their hearts into helping others," said David Prendergast, president of the Eastern Territory at Allstate Insurance Company and a member of the 2018 voting panel. "It is our privilege at Allstate to come together with the AFCA for the 11^th consecutive year to shine a light on these exceptional nominees who set the highest standards of community service and serve as role models for generations to come."

The final roster of 22 award recipients and honorary head coach will be unveiled in September. Wetzel, one of 10 returning starters on offense for MU, and the Hawks will open the season on August 31, 2018 against FBS foe Eastern Michigan.