AFCA Release
COLLEGEVILLE, Minn. Saint John’s University senior defensive lineman Michael Wozniak (New Hope, Minn./Robbinsdale Armstrong) is a nominee for the 2022 Allstate American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) Good Works Team, which was released on Wednesday, July 20.
Wozniak is one of 114 nominees from NCAA Division I, II and III, as well as NAIA programs for the 2022 Allstate AFCA Good Works Team. This year marks the 31st anniversary of the award, 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 nominees were submitted by sports information directors across the nation on behalf of their schools. Comprised of 11 players from the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision, 11 players from the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision (Divisions II, III and the NAIA) and one honorary head coach, the final roster of 23 award recipients will be unveiled in September. A special voting panel consisting of former Allstate AFCA Good Works Team members and prominent college football media members will select the 2022 Good Works Team.
Each of the Johnnies’ last four nominees were named to the Allstate AFCA Good Works Team and SJU has five honorees overall: quarterback Chris Backes ’21, offensive lineman Ben Bartch ’20, quarterback Jackson Erdmann ’19 and wide receiver Will Gilach ’19. Defensive end Kevin McNamara ’07 was SJU’s first to receive the honor in 2006. The full list of SJU’s nominees/honorees is below.
A 2022 Lindy’s Preseason All-American and a 2021 D3football.com All-America first-team selection, Wozniak started all 12 games and finished with a team-leading 15.5 tackles for loss and 10.5 sacks, including 6.5 tackles for loss and 3.5 sacks in two NCAA playoff games, last fall. He totaled 30 tackles (20 solo), five quarterback hurries, a fumble recovery and a pass breakup.
Wozniak returned to the field in 2021 after suffering a season-ending hand injury on the first defensive play of the 2019 season – a tackle for loss – at Wisconsin-Stout.
Off the field, Wozniak begins his fifth year raising money for a pair of SJU football’s initiatives, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and Tackle Cancer. He was also a member of the Johnnies’ Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, which holds an annual Kids Fighting Hunger meal-packing event every March, for two academic years (2020-21 and 2021-22). Wozniak also helped organize a swim meet for local Special Olympians in Spring 2022 in Collegeville.
Back home, Wozniak volunteered to coach 2nd- and 3rd-grade youth football back in his hometown for the Armstrong Cooper Youth Football Association.
In addition to his exemplary athletic performance and community service experience, Wozniak is also a decorated student. He was named to the 2021 College Sports Information Directors of America Academic All-America first team and is a two-time Academic All-MIAC honoree (minimum 3.5 GPA) with a 3.86 GPA in accounting.
The Johnnies report to Collegeville on Friday, Aug. 12, with the first practice scheduled for 2:30 pm on Saturday, Aug. 13. SJU opens the 2022 season with a 1 pm kickoff Sept. 3 against Wisconsin-Whitewater – one of six home games this fall – in Clemens Stadium.
SJU’s Allstate AFCA Good Works Team Nominees/Honorees Since 2006
2022 – Defensive Lineman Michael Wozniak ’22
2021 – No Nominee
2020 – Quarterback Chris Backes ’21 (Allstate AFCA Good Works Team)
2019 – Offensive Lineman Ben Bartch ’20 (Allstate AFCA Good Works Team)
2018 – Quarterback Jackson Erdmann ’19 (Allstate AFCA Good Works Team)
2017 – Wide Receiver Will Gilach ’19 (Allstate AFCA Good Works Team)
2016 – Linebacker Carter Hanson ’17
2015 – Offensive Lineman Ben Brown ’16
2014 – Offensive Lineman Alex Jarosz ’15
2013 – Running Back Colin Moynihan ’14
2012 – Running Back Stephen Johnson ’13
2011 – Defensive Back Andrew Rotschafer ’11
2010 – Linebacker John Stanton ’10
2009 – No Nominee
2008 – Running Back Jeff Schnobrich ’09
2007 – No Nominee
2006 – Defensive Lineman Kevin McNamara ’07 (Allstate AFCA Good Works Team)