Penn State's Nick Dawkins Named to Allstate AFCA Good Works Team

Nittany Lions fans can vote for captain Nick Dawkins for the Wuerffel Trophy which recognizes community service in college football.

Penn State center Nick Dawkins celebrates after a turnover against Indiana in 2023. / Matthew O'Haren-Imagn Images

Penn State center Nick Dawkins, a fifth-year senior and Nittany Lions captain, has been named to the Allstate AFCA Good Works Team. The team recognizes community service in college football. Dawkins is among 22 players, including 11 in the FBS, named to the Good Works Team. As a result, Dawkins also became a semifinalist for the Allstate Wuerffel Trophy, which will be announced after the season.

Dawkins, who became Penn State's starting center this season, is among the team's most respected leaders on and off the field. He won Penn State's Public Service Award in 2023 and the
program's Letterman's Club Scholarship, awarded annually to a graduate student. Dawkins was president of Penn State's chapter of Lift For Life and participates in community service projects including PALS and the Fellowship of Christian Athletes.

Dawkins founded the Dawkins Family Foundation, a nonprofit organization that seeks to enrich communities by engaging with youth. According to Penn State, the foundation has awarded scholarships to three high school seniors and provides book bags to students in the Lehigh Valley region of Pennsylvania, where Dawkins attended Parkland High School.

Dawkins also participated in developing a sports camp at the YMCA of Centre County, serves on the board of former Penn State football player Devon Still's "Still Strong Foundation" and chaired the diversity, equity and inclusion committee of Penn State's student-athlete advisory committee.

Dawkins earned his bachelor's degree in recereation, parks and tourism management and is pursuing a graduate certificate in organization development and change essentials.

"You need to give back," Dawkins said during the team's visit to Penn State Health Children's Hospital in May. "People lose sight that this whole football thing is bigger than you. Put a smile on someone’s face? That's huge. ... That goes to the humility and being humble and all the things that we are in our program and our tradition."

The Allstate AFCA Good Works Team includes 22 players, 11 each from the FBS and FCS, and one honorary head coach, Notre Dame's Marcus Freeman.

“It is amazing to see the extra efforts and community service these 22 young men put out on a daily basis,” Craig Bohl, executive director of the American Football Coaches Association, said in a statement. “Not to be outdone, our honorary head coach Marcus Freeman shows that you can still give back and help your community even when you are the head coach of an FBS program like Notre Dame. I congratulate Coach Freeman and these 22 student-athletes for making the 2024 Allstate AFCA Good Works Team.”

The winner of the Allstate Wuerffel Trophy will be announced in December at the Home Depot College Football Awards Show on ESPN. Fans can vote for their favorite player for the Allstate Wuerffel Trophy.

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