COLLEGEVILLE, Minn. – Saint John's University senior wide receiver Dylan Wheeler (St. Paul, Minn./Mounds View) will be honored during halftime of the 92nd Allstate Sugar Bowl on Thursday, Jan. 1, as a member of the 22-man Allstate American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) Good Works Team.

Kickoff for Thursday's Sugar Bowl, which showcases No. 3 Georgia and No. 6 Ole Miss in a College Football Playoff quarterfinal, is scheduled for 7 p.m. CT from the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans (with an approximate time of 8:30 p.m. CT for the halftime presentation).

Wheeler and his family arrived in New Orleans Tuesday. Earlier today, Wheeler and the rest of the Allstate AFCA Good Works Team participated at a community service event. 

This year marks the 34th 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 seven from Division III.

Wheeler is the ninth Johnnie to be named to the Allstate AFCA Good Works Team and the eighth in the last nine seasons – joining linebacker Jake Schwinghammer '25, 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
A consensus All-American in 2024, Wheeler was named an All-American by D3football.com (second team) and Associated Press (third team) over the past few weeks. The two-time D3football.com All-Region and All-MIAC selection ended the regular season eighth in Division III in receiving touchdowns and led the Johnnies in all three receiving categories: receptions (98), yards (1,175) and touchdowns (19). Wheeler totaled 22 catches for 237 yards and five touchdowns in two NCAA playoff games.

He started each of SJU's last 34 games (and has played in all 46 during his time as a Johnnie). He owns three conference or program receiving records starting with: MIAC (conference games only) games of multiple receiving touchdowns (six in 2024) and is tied with Blake Elliott '03 with 12 100-yard receiving games in conference play. Wheeler also holds the SJU record for games of three receiving touchdowns or more (8). 

He ended his career second in program history in receptions (247), receiving yards (3,182), receiving touchdowns (50) and 100-yard receiving games (15).

Off the Field
An accounting and finance (double-major) with a 3.64 GPA, Wheeler was named to the 2024 College Sports Communicators (CSC) Academic All-America second team in addition to earning CSC Academic All-District and Academic All-MIAC (minimum 3.5 GPA) honors (the 2025 awards have not been announced).

Wheeler organized a fundraiser during the 2024 football season for Folds of Honor to provide academic scholarships for the children and spouses of America's fallen or disabled military members and first responders. He developed a performance-based donation system that raised over $25,000 from almost 30 different donors.

Wheeler is SJU's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) president for the current 2025-26 academic year, which is his third as a member of the organization. He was SAAC's Diversity & Inclusion Committee Chair in 2024-25 and was a member of the organization's Kids Fighting Hunger Committee in 2023-24. Wheeler helped raise over $35,000 and organized a food-packing event on campus that produced nearly 100,000 meals that year.

He spent a week in March 2024 on an SJU Faith Service and Immersion trip to the Bahamas and volunteered at a local elementary school, building picnic tables for the students and playing bocce ball with a local Special Olympics group. Wheeler also cleaned up the grounds of a convent of Benedictine Sisters, doing yardwork and taking out garbage.

Wheeler completed his fourth year raising money for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital as a member of the SJU football team. The Johnnies raised $63,700 last fall, the program's 10th year supporting the organization.