Serving the High Plains
Serving the High Plains
169 NCAA players across all divisions were nominated.
Eastern New
Mexico News
PORTALES — Eastern New Mexico redshirt junior quarterback Wyatt Strand was named to the Allstate AFCA Good Works Team for 2018. The prestigious off-the-field college football honor is for players that are actively involved with a charitable organization or service group, while maintaining a strong academic standing.
This year, Allstate and the AFCA nominated 169 NCAA football players across all divisions. 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. The final roster of 22 award recipients and honorary head coach will be unveiled in September.
Strand’s 2017 on-field campaign was impressive, as he led the Greyhounds to eight wins for the first time since the 2002 season and a third-place finish in the LSC standings. In two seasons as a starter, Strand has quarterbacked the Hounds to 15 wins.
Last season he was second on the team in rushing, averaging 67.8 yards per game and totaling 678 in the Hounds’ Ground Strike offense. Through the air, Strand only threw the ball 96 times last season but still completed 55 of them to go along with four touchdowns. He was hard to intercept as he only had two last season — the lowest in Division II.
Outside of football, Strand has been active in a number of different ways in his time at ENMU. He is a member of the ENMU Fellowship of Christian Athletes organization and Student Athletic Advisory Committee as a representative for football. Strand also volunteered with Central Christian Church this past March in a food drive that helped benefit the community of Portales and the surrounding areas.
During the ENMU Youth Football Camps, he has been around helping teach kids the skills of the game and lessons outside of football. Strand has also volunteered his time by doing literacy work and readings at the local elementary schools in the area during the spring semester.
A special voting panel consisting of former Allstate AFCA Good Works Team members and prominent college football media members will review submissions from sports directors across the nation to select the 2018 Good Works Team. Tim Tebow, two-time national champion, Heisman Trophy winner and 2009 Allstate AFCA Good Works Team member, will once again headline the Allstate AFCA Good Works Team voting panel.
After the final team members are announced in September, college football fans can visit the Allstate AFCA Good Works Team official page on ESPN.com to view profiles and images of the players and honorary head coach, and vote for the 2018 Allstate AFCA Good Works Team Captain. Fans are also encouraged to follow along and join in on the conversation by searching and using #GoodWorksTeam on their social media channels throughout the season.