By: Ryan Klinkner, SJU Athletic Media Relations Director
*Updated due to the game's postponement*
COLLEGEVILLE, Minn. – Saint John's University senior linebacker
Jake Schwinghammer (Woodbury, Minn./Tartan) will be honored during halftime of the 91st Allstate Sugar Bowl on Thursday, Jan. 2, as a member of the 22-man Allstate American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) Good Works Team.

Kickoff for Thursday's Sugar Bowl that showcases No. 2 Georgia and No. 5 Notre Dame – a College Football Playoff quarterfinal – was rescheduled for 3 p.m. CT from the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans (with an approximate time of 4:30 p.m. CT for the halftime presentation).
Schwinghammer and his father, Tom (
left, with Tim Tebow), arrived in New Orleans Monday. Earlier today, Schwinghammer and the rest of the Allstate AFCA Good Works Team participated at a football clinic with Son of A Saint.
This year marks the 33rd anniversary of the award, which was established in 1992 to recognize a select group of college football players who have made a commitment to service and enriching the lives of others. The 22-man team is comprised of student-athletes across all divisions of college football, including four from Division III.
Schwinghammer is the eighth Johnnie to be named to the Allstate AFCA Good Works Team and the seventh in the last eight seasons: wide receiver
Jimmy Buck '23, defensive lineman Michael Wozniak '22, quarterback Chris Backes '21, offensive lineman Ben Bartch '20, quarterback Jackson Erdmann '19 and wide receiver Will Gillach '19. Defensive end Kevin McNamara '07 was the first SJU student-athlete to receive the honor in 2006.
On the Field
Schwinghammer (
right, with Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman) started each of the Johnnies' last 22 games at linebacker and finished fourth on the team with 54 tackles (26 solo), including three for a loss and one sack. He ended his career with 129 tackles (69 solo), including 10.5 tackles for loss and 5.5 sacks in 37 games.
The Johnnies' defense ended the regular season as the NCAA Division III leader on fourth down (20 percent/5-for-25), third in sacks (4.10 spg.), sixth in the red zone (.565/13-for-23); eighth against the run (53.8 ypg.) and 19th in points allowed (13.0 ppg.). At the conference level, SJU tied for the MIAC lead in scoring offense (14.6 ppg.) and finished second the other three main statistics in league play: total defense (259.6 ypg.), rushing defense (55.1 ypg.) and passing defense (204.5 ypg.). The 55.1 rushing yards per league game was the least allowed since 1998 (43.0 ypg.).
Off the Field
Schwinghammer is in his first year serving as the president of the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John's University's St. Jude Children's Research Hospital Club on campus, taking over for 2023 Allstate AFCA Good Works Team member
Jimmy Buck '23. The club holds bi-weekly meetings and contacts businesses to partner with for fundraising events. He is in his fourth year overall raising money for St. Jude's and is also the president of SJU Football's St. Jude committee, which raised over $60,000 this fall (
left). Schwinghammer co-captained the team's efforts with Buck and raised over $63,000 in 2023.
He is the co-founder and vice president of the Johnnies and Bennies in Communities (JBIC) Club, which was established in February 2024. The club's goal is community service with local organizations such as Big Brothers Big Sisters and Feed My Starving Children, as well as elderly groups.

Schwinghammer studied abroad in London during Spring 2024 and spent eight weeks from March-April working at a school that consisted of only adult students with special needs through an internship with Caritas Westminster. He worked hand-in-hand with the students by teaching classes, handling finances and day-to-day operations, as well as learning to communicate with deaf students via sign language and translating for students in Spanish. The goal of the school is to integrate the students into the community and help them reach their full potential.
Schwinghammer is a biochemistry major (pre-medicine emphasis) with a 3.33 GPA. From May 18-26 (2024), he was in Guatemala as a medical volunteer (
right). He worked in medical clinics, providing free health care to the underprivileged residents who came from near and far (some from hundreds of miles away) for services. Schwinghammer spent time translating and speaking Spanish for his peers and doctors, as well as issuing diagnoses and treatments directly with the patients. He intends to take the EMT course offered by CSB/SJU in Spring 2025 to achieve his certification.