Dick Corbett Head Football Coach Marcus Freeman and graduate student linebacker Jack Kiser have been selected to the Allstate AFCA Good Works Team, which recognizes college football athletes and an honorary coach each season for their unwavering commitment to community service and their “good works” off the field. Kiser has also been named an Allstate Wuerffel Trophy semifinalist.
Each season, one honorary head coach is selected to the AFCA Good Works Team; Freeman’s selection marks the first time that a Notre Dame head coach has earned the honor.
Kiser is one of 11 FBS players to be selected to the AFCA Good Works Team; all 11 student-athletes comprise the semifinalist group for the prestigious Wuerffel Trophy.
Notre Dame players have been named to the AFCA Good Works Team on nine previous occasions: defensive lineman Grant Irons (1999), linebacker Courtney Watson (2003), linebacker Derek Curry (2004), offensive lineman Bob Morton (2006), safety Tom Zbikowski (2007), quarterback Dayne Crist (2011), offensive lineman Mike Golic Jr. (2012), tight end Nic Weishar (2018) and linebacker JD Bertrand (2022). Weishar was selected as the Team Captain of the 2018 Good Works Team.
The Allstate Wuerffel Trophy, college football’s premier award for community service, is presented to one of the 11 FBS players elected to the Allstate AFCA Good Works Team who best combines exemplary community service with leadership and performance on and off the field. The Wuerffel Trophy finalists and recipient will be selected by a national voting committee, including a fan vote component. The 2024 recipient will also be recognized as the Allstate AFCA Good Works Team captain.
Freeman is an avid, consistent supporter of Ronald McDonald House Charities of Michiana, an organization which helps patients and their families during extended hospital stays. Each Friday before home games during the season, Freeman visits the patients and their families, bringing along student-athletes who would like to join him. The group delivers lunches and brings Notre Dame gifts and games to the patients. However, the most important part of the visit is the time spent with each patient, getting to know them and playing games.
Freeman has also taken part in numerous charitable engagements, including visiting local schools such as St. Adalbert Catholic School in South Bend, where he surprised students with tickets to the spring football game, and speaking at philanthropic…