Rivera Is Nominee For AFCA Good Works Team
Aug. 7, 2008
LAWRENCE, Kan. – Kansas football player Mike Rivera is one of 45 nominees for the 17th annual Allstate AFCA Good Works Team. The team recognizes college football players for their work in the community. The final 11-man team will be announced in September.
Rivera, a senior from Shawnee Mission, Kan. has been heavily involved in KU’s community service projects during his Jayhawk career.
“”Mike embraces the unique opportunity he has as a KU student-athlete to make a positive impact on our community.” said Mike Harrity, Assistant Athletics Director, Student-Athlete Development and Community Relations at Kansas. “Whether he is visiting an elementary school as part of our Jayhawks READ program or helping to build a home with Habitat for Humanity, Mike enjoys giving something back to the community that has shown so much support for Kansas football. The team has followed his lead, as they participated in more community service events this past year than ever before.”
On the field, the third-year starter at linebacker is a candidate for the Chuck Bednarik Award, which is given to the nation’s most outstanding defensive player. Rivera recorded 90 tackles as a sophomore in 2006 and upped that number to 96 a year ago.
The 6-3, 255-pounder was an All-Big 12 Honorable Mention selection in 2007, while also earning Academic All-Big 12 honors and KU’s Community Service Award.
Here is a look at the 45 Football Bowl Subdivision nominees:
Arizona State University – Keegan Herring |
Ball State University – Brandon Crawford |
Central Michigan University – Brian Brunner |
Colorado State University – Kyle Bell |
Duke University – Re’quan Boyette |
Florida State University – Everette Brown |
Indiana University – Austin Starr |
Iowa State University – Euseph Messiah |
Kansas State University – Jeron Mastrud |
Middle Tennessee State University – Phillip Tanner |
North Carolina State University – Andre Brown |
Northern Illinois University – Matt Simon |
Northwestern University – Eric Peterman |
Ohio State University – James Laurinaitis |
Rutgers University – Tiquan Underwood |
Syracuse University – Lavar Lobdell |
Temple University – Richard Sheppard |
Texas Tech University – Brian Duncan |
Tulane University – Craig Gelhardt |
U.S. Air Force Academy – Travis Dekker |
University of Arkansas – Jose Valdez |
University of California – Alex Mack |
University of Colorado – Maurice Cantrell |
University of Connecticut – Brad Kanuch |
University of Georgia – Mohamed Massaquoi |
University of Illinois – Brit Miller |
University of Kansas – Mike Rivera |
University of Kentucky – Tim Masthay |
University of Maryland – Jordan Steffy |
University of Memphis – Dominik Riley |
University of Nebraska – Todd Peterson |
University of Notre Dame – Evan Sharpley |
University of Oklahoma – Gerald McCoy |
University of Pittsburgh – Scott McKillop |
University of South Carolina – Eric Norwood |
University of South Florida – George Selvie |
University of Tennessee – Josh Briscoe |
University of Texas – Colt McCoy |
University of Toledo – John Allen |
University of Wisconsin – Chris Pressley |
Utah State University – Geno Odong |
Virginia Tech – Orion Martin |
Wake Forest University – Benjamin Wooster |
West Virginia University – Tito Gonzales |
Western Michigan University – Tim Hiller |