Mustang head football coach Steve Ryan and linebacker Luke Grooters are among the nominees for the 2016 Allstate AFCA Good Works Team.

Morningside head football coach Steve Ryan and Mustang linebacker Luke Grooters have been nominated for the 2016 Allstate American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) Good Works Team.

Ryan is one of 10 coaches, and the only candidate from a NAIA institution, nominated as an Honorary Head Coach for the 2016 Allstate AFCA Good Works Team.

The other nominated coaches are Chris Creighton of Eastern Michigan University, Mark Dantonio of Michigan State University, Willie Fritz of Tulane University, Nick Saban of the University of Alabama, and Mark Richt of the University of Miami from the Football Bowl Subdivision and John Grass of Jacksonville State University, Tim Beck of Pittsburg State University, Curt Wiese of the University of Minnesota-Duluth, and Glenn Caruso of the University of St. Thomas from the combined divisions of FCS, NCAA II, NCAA III and NAIA.

Grooters, a senior from Rock Rapids, Iowa, is one of 165 nominated players for the 25th anniversary Allstate AFCA Good Works Team, 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 Allstate AFCA Good Works Team pays tribute to stories of good and the student-athletes who have dedicated countless hours towards helping others.

In honor of the 25th anniversary, Allstate and the AFCA will add three additional spots to this year’s team and announce a final roster of 25 members in September. For the first time in the award’s history, the Allstate AFCA Good Works Team will be comprised of 12 players from the NCAA Bowl Subdivision, 12 players from the NCAA Championship Subdivision, Divisions II, III, and the NAIA, and an honorary head coach.

From the nominees submitted by sports information directors nationwide on behalf of their schools, a special voting panel, which consists of former Good Works Team members and prominent college football media members, will select the 2016 Allstate AFCA Good Works Team.