Release

COLLEGEVILLE, Minn. – Saint John's University senior defensive lineman Michael Wozniak (New Hope, Minn./Robbinsdale Armstrong) was named one of the 15 semifinalists for the 2022 Gagliardi Trophy on Tuesday, Nov. 22.

The trophy – named in honor of the legendary former head coach John Gagliardi – is awarded annually to the most outstanding football player in NCAA Division III by Jostens and the J-Club of Saint John's University.

The semifinalists include six quarterbacks, four running backs, two wide receivers, two defensive linemen and one offensive lineman. Thirteen of the 15 semifinalists participated in the first round of the Division III playoffs on Nov. 19.

The Gagliardi Trophy finalists will be announced during a live show on Thursday, Dec. 8, on D3football.com. Hosts Pat Coleman and Frank Rossi will profile the finalists during the program. The 2022 Gagliardi Trophy winner will be revealed on D3football.com during the week of the NCAA Division III football national championship at 7 p.m. CT on Friday, Dec. 16.

Nominations were submitted by colleges across the country, and the semifinalists were selected by the J-Club Board of Directors. The Gagliardi Trophy national-selection committee is comprised of 18 Division III coaches (three from each NCAA Region), six Division III administrators (one from each region), 12 regional notable voters (two from each region), and six national voters with Division III backgrounds. A fan vote, which runs until Dec. 2, is live on D3football.com. - Vote

The national distinction is the third of the season for Wozniak, who was selected to the 22-man, 2022 Allstate American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) Good Works Team Sept. 19 and was named a finalist for the National Football Foundation's Campbell Trophy Oct. 26. He earned MIAC Defensive Player of the Year honors with his second-straight All-MIAC honor yesterday (Nov. 21).

An accounting major with a 3.86 GPA, Wozniak is the 15th Johnnie to be named a semifinalist or finalist for the Gagliardi Trophy and the third defensive player, joining his position coach Damien Dumonceaux '05 in 2005 and linebacker Carter Hanson '17, the 2016 Gagliardi Trophy recipient.

He earned his second consecutive Academic All-District honor earlier today (Nov. 22) and achieved College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Academic All-America first-team honors last fall. 

The three-time Academic All-MIAC honoree (minimum 3.5 GPA) was a unanimous 2022 preseason All-America and a 2021 D3football.com All-America first-team selection. Wozniak has 40 tackles (18 solo), including 13.0 for a loss and nine sacks, as well as two forced fumbles, six quarterback hurries and a blocked kick in 11 games this fall. He has 19.5 tackles for loss and 12.5 sacks over his last 13 games going back to last season, and 31 tackles for loss and 19.5 sacks in 31 career games. 

Wozniak started all 12 games and finished with a team-leading 15.5 tackles for loss and 10.5 sacks, including 6.5 tackles for loss and 3.5 sacks in two NCAA playoff games, last fall. He totaled 30 tackles (20 solo), five quarterback hurries, a fumble recovery and a pass breakup. 

He returned to the field in 2021 after suffering a season-ending hand injury on the first defensive play of the 2019 season - a tackle for loss - at Wisconsin-Stout.

Off the field, Wozniak is in his fifth year raising money for a pair of SJU football's initiatives, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital and Tackle Cancer. He was also a member of the Johnnies' Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, which holds an annual Kids Fighting Hunger meal-packing event every March, for two academic years (2020-21 and 2021-22). Wozniak also helped organize a swim meet for local Special Olympians in Spring 2022 in Collegeville. 

Back home, Wozniak volunteered to coach 2nd- and 3rd-grade youth football for the Armstrong Cooper Youth Football Association.

No. 4 SJU (10-1 overall) hosts No. 12 Wartburg (11-0) in the second round of the NCAA Division III Playoffs at noon Saturday, Nov. 26, in Clemens Stadium.