When sports fans think of exemplary community service and football, the likely star that comes to mind is Heisman Trophy winner and former NFL quarterback Tim Tebow.
Tebow helped reveal the 22 student-athletes and the coach who made up the 2023 Allstate AFCA Good Works Team earlier this month.
Some of this year’s members include Michigan running back Blake Corum, Clemson running back Will Shipley, Ashland University quarterback Trent Maddox, Georgia wide receiver Ladd McConkey and Maryland head coach Mike Locksley.
The full list can be viewed here. Fans can vote on the team captain through Nov. 22.
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The honor highlights student-athletes who have helped change the lives of others through mentorship, feeding the hungry, donating some of their earnings or even establishing their own nonprofit 501(c)(3) organizations — all the while maintaining top academic standing.
Tebow told Fox News Digital that one of the things that make the award special is that it covers all of college football and not just the top levels.
"It’s just awesome because these young men at FBS (Football Bowl Subdivision), FCS (Football Championship Subdivision) and the honorary Coach of the Year are incredible young men and what they do is special," he said. "I love it because we have so many awards — like, honestly, countless awards for what they do on the field. This is one of very few for who they are and what they do off the field. That’s why I just think it’s such a big deal that we celebrate the impact they’re making."
Tebow praised guys like Corum, Shipley and McConkey, and also talked about Maddox’s impact as well. Maddox isn’t the starting quarterback for Ashland, but Tebow said he makes a big impact away from the game. Tebow said Maddox set up his own special needs football camp.
"It’s cool because all of their hearts are drawn to sometimes the same thing, but a lot of it’s in slightly different areas," he explained. "… They just listen to that conviction and that nudge and they step into that area. They feel called, and they’re making such an impact."
While known as the award-winning quarterback who helped Florida to two national championships and won the Maxwell Award as the best player in college football, Tebow stepped into the spotlight as not only a person who cared about the game, but people as well.
He recalled helping start the First and 15 Foundation, and its members were able to convince the NCAA to allow them to do an entire week of impact and helping the community. Tebow said it ended with a powderpuff football championship game at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium before the spring game, and they raised around $500,000. The money went to several different organizations in the community.
Tebow was then named a Good Works Team member in 2009.
"That was a really special memory," he said.
On the surface, it may seem as though student-athletes have a ton on their plate — practices, homework and even name, image and likeness commitments. But Tebow said that the ever-changing landscape of the NCAA actually helps student-athletes avoid getting caught up in red tape.
"I think to a certain extent there’s some of it that’s easier because there are not as many rules in place of what you’re allowed to do," he said. "That was something that we had to ask permission multiple times to be able to get permission, and now they’re allowed to do a little bit more. So, that’s easy.
"But there's a lot of demands on young people’s time right now. I would just really encourage them to make sure that when they look back at it, that it’s a time where they put the effort into their sport, they put the effort into their school, but they also put the effort into relationships and the opportunities they have to make an impact. And when they look back it, I don’t think that’s one they will regret. Even though, yes, it does take time, it’s also one that can have a massive impact."
