Already a second-team All-Conference player and a CoSIDA Academic All-American, Hillsdale College senior defensive back Alex Anschutz is under consideration for another national award in 2021.
Anschutz was selected from a pool of players across all divisions of football as one of 109 nominees for the Allstate 30th AFCA Good Works Team on Wednesday.
The Good Works team honors college football players who make an impact on the field and in their community, and for 30 years has recognized the most exemplary stories of community service paired with academic and athletic achievement.
"I am inspired by these future community leaders and their dedication to improving the world around them. Despite their already busy schedules, these young men have stepped up as champions for change after an unprecedented year," said Terrance Williams, general manager and executive vice president of Allstate agency sales and the newest member of the Allstate AFCA Good Works Team selection committee. "Allstate takes great pride in our partnership with the AFCA, and we are honored to recognize these players and highlight their stories, which too often tend to go unnoticed."
The candidates for the 2021 team include student-athletes who are scholars, leaders and community champions. These nominees have volunteered to build homes, mentor underprivileged kids, aid in COVID-19 relief efforts, as well as advocate against domestic violence and racial injustice.
"Each year, I am amazed by the caliber of these nominees because their philanthropic efforts continuously raise the bar for how we should all be champions of our communities. I am humbled to help tell their stories, and they should be proud to have been nominated for such a prestigious award," said Tim Tebow, two-time national champion, Heisman Trophy winner and 2009 Allstate AFCA Good Works Team member. "These players embody the spirit of a true champion."
Anschutz has been extensively involved in volunteer work during his time with the Chargers, serving as a member of the "Guys With Ties" Youth Mentorship Program at Hillsdale College, working to help teach fourth graders in the community leadership skills, confidence and proper etiquette in professional situations.
As a team captain, he's also involved with the Charger football program's annual Victory Day celebration, providing a fun and engaging experience for local kids with special needs, and he's volunteered for multiple years with the team's "Be the Match" bone marrow donor registry drive, which has added over 250 potential donors to the registry that matches transplants with patients who are suffering from life-threatening bone cancers.
He's done all of this while maintaining a 3.86 GPA as a biochemistry major, and presenting research highlighting key points of the mechanisms involved in the human dopamine transporter in the brain during the 2020 school year.
On the field, Anschutz is a team captain and three-year starter for the Chargers who plays the team's STAR position, a hybrid linebacker/safety. He led Hillsdale in tackles for loss and pass breakups in 2019, and has 179 career tackles, 6.5 tackles for loss, four interceptions and 19 pass breakups, earning second-team All-Great Midwest Athletic Conference honors in back-to-back seasons.
Anschutz is returning for a fifth season in fall of 2021 thanks to additional eligibility granted by the NCAA's Covid-19 waiver, and is hoping to cap his career with his best season yet while helping the Chargers compete for a G-MAC championship.
A voting panel of former Allstate AFCA Good Works Team members and journalists will select a 22-member team from the pool of 109 nominees, looking for players who demonstrate exceptional leadership, on and off the football field.
The panel includes both Tebow and Williams, as well as Zaid Abdul-Aleem (Duke, 1994 team); Matt Stinchcomb (Georgia, 1997, 1998); Brian Brenberg (St. Thomas, 2001); Mike Proman (Amherst, 2002); Wes Counts (Middle Tennessee State, 1999); media members Kirk Herbstreit (ESPN), Blair Kerkhoff (Kansas City Star) and Paul Myerberg (USA Today); 2021 AFCA President and Northwestern University Head Coach Pat Fitzgerald; and 2001 AFCA President and current Athletic Director at Virginia Union University Joe Taylor.
The team will be announced in September.