AFCA Release

NORTHBROOK, Ill. – Saint John's University senior wide receiver Sam Nolan (Lakeville, Minn./South) was named a nominee for the 2026 Allstate American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) Good Works Team on Monday, July 20.

Nolan is one of 162 nominees for the 2026 Allstate AFCA Good Works Team. Nominees are drawn from the ranks of NCAA Division I, II and III, as well as NAIA programs. This year marks the 36th 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 nominees were submitted by athletic communication professionals across the nation on behalf of their schools. Comprised of 11 players from NCAA Division I; 11 players from NCAA Divisions II, III and the NAIA; and one honorary head coach, the final roster of 23 award recipients will be unveiled in September. 

A special voting panel consisting of former Allstate AFCA Good Works Team members and prominent college football media members will select the 2026 team. 

Each of the Johnnies' last eight nominees were named to the Allstate AFCA Good Works Team and SJU has nine honorees overall: wide receiver Dylan Wheeler '26, 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 (the full list of SJU's nominees/honorees is below).

A biology major (pre-medicine emphasis) with a 3.82 GPA, Nolan is a two-time Academic All-MIAC honoree (minimum 3.5 GPA). He appeared in six games for SJU last fall and caught three passes for 35 yards.

Off the field, Nolan joined the SJU Faith Prison Ministry program on campus last spring and will continue as part of the group going forward. Prison Ministry occurs every Monday night from 6:15-9:30 p.m., though students are generally scheduled every-other week. A few students meet with a priest from the monastery on campus and go to the nearby St. Cloud (Minn.) Prison to celebrate Mass with inmates and engage with them before and after the service. 

Nolan volunteered as a confirmation teacher during the 2025-26 academic year at St. Joseph Catholic Church in St. Joseph (Minn.). He helped with large-group activities for high school students and was personally responsible for teaching the ninth-grade boys' small group, which he plans to continue doing for the next two years until they are confirmed. Nolan met with the group every other Sunday for three hours (5:30-8:30 p.m.), as well as a nine-hour retreat on a Saturday. 

He embarked on a service trip to Chicago through SJU Faith for a week over spring break in March 2025. The trip involved serving people experiencing homeless, poverty and incarceration. Nolan worked at soup kitchens, employment centers for those experiencing homelessness, prison ministry and food shelves.

Nolan traveled to Denver for a service trip with SJU Faith over spring break as a freshman in March 2024. Similar to the Chicago service trip, the Denver trip focused on serving people experiencing homelessness and poverty. He worked at soup kitchens, food shelves and homeless shelters.

He will serve on SJU's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) during the 2026-27 academic year (and 2027-28, as he expects to exercise his fifth year due to a medical hardship). SJU's SAAC plans service and awareness events such as the Kids Fighting Hunger meal-packing drive, Special Olympics, Folds of Honor, Walk a Mile in Her Shoes and coat drives on campus. 

This fall, Nolan takes over from fellow wideout Dylan Wheeler '26, a 2025 Allstate AFCA Good Works Team member, and his efforts to raise money 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 is also in his fourth year raising money for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital Club as a member of the SJU football team. He and teammate Andrew Molenaar will be the team leaders to rase money for Tackle Cancer, which benefits the Randy Shaver Cancer Research and Community Fund, this fall.

The Johnnies raised $32,000 for St. Jude's last fall to raise their total to over $388,000 in 10 years supporting the organization. 

In all, the program has raised over $192,000 for Tackle Cancer over the last 12 seasons.

Nolan is a member of the CSB+SJU Special Olympics club on campus. He joined the club this past spring for track & field and plans to continue to volunteer with Special Olympics with flag football, basketball and track.

In high school, Nolan went on three mission trips with his church, the Church of the Risen Savior Catholic Church in Burnsville, Minn., in the summers prior to his junior, senior and freshman (college) years. Each mission trip – to Leech Lake Native American Reservation, Denver and Savannah, Ga. – was at least a weeklong and focused on serving populations experiencing homelessness and poverty, or the elderly. Activities included painting houses or helping with home renovations, working at soup kitchens or food pantries, volunteering at day cares for kids experiencing poverty and organizing/helping ship clothes at donation centers. He also served as a confirmation teacher as a junior and senior in high school.

The Johnnies report to campus on Wednesday, Aug. 12, with their first practice scheduled for 2:30 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 13. SJU begins the 2026 season by hosting Wisconsin-La Crosse for a 1 p.m. kickoff Sept. 5 in Clemens Stadium.

SJU's Allstate AFCA Good Works Team Nominees/Honorees Since 2006
2026 - Wide Receiver Sam Nolan '27
2025 - Wide Receiver Dylan Wheeler '26 (Allstate AFCA Good Works Team)
2024 - Linebacker Jake Schwinghammer '25 (Allstate AFCA Good Works Team)
2023 - Wide Receiver Jimmy Buck '23 (Allstate AFCA Good Works Team)
2022 - Defensive Lineman Michael Wozniak '22 (Allstate AFCA Good Works Team)
2021 - No Nominee
2020 - Quarterback Chris Backes '21 (Allstate AFCA Good Works Team)
2019 - Offensive Lineman Ben Bartch '20 (Allstate AFCA Good Works Team)
2018 - Quarterback Jackson Erdmann '19 (Allstate AFCA Good Works Team)
2017 - Wide Receiver Will Gillach '19 (Allstate AFCA Good Works Team)
2016 - Linebacker Carter Hanson '17 
2015 - Offensive Lineman Ben Brown '16 
2014 - Offensive Lineman Alex Jarosz '15 
2013 - Running Back Colin Moynihan '14 
2012 - Running Back Stephen Johnson '13 
2011 - Defensive Back Andrew Rotschafer '11 
2010 - Linebacker John Stanton '10 
2009 - No Nominee
2008 - Running Back Jeff Schnobrich '09 
2007 - No Nominee
2006 - Defensive Lineman Kevin McNamara '07 (Allstate AFCA Good Works Team)