Junior wide receiver Dru Johnson has put Ashland University's football team into some lofty company.
 
On Tuesday (Sept. 17) morning, Johnson was named as one of 22 student-athletes – along with one head coach – on the 2024 Allstate American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) Good Works Team. There were a record 178 nominees this year, representing players and coaches from colleges and universities across the country for their unwavering commitment to community service and their "good works" off the field.
 
"It is such an honor and privilege to be selected to the 2024 Good Works Team," Johnson said. "Thank you to Ashland University for nominating me, and I am beyond thrilled to be the fourth straight Eagle represented on the Good Works Team.
 
"All praise to God who has blessed me with opportunity after opportunity to help in my community and to show Christ's love through servanthood. I hope that through my work in the community, people recognize the importance of personal vulnerability and humility for the betterment of the people and environment around you."
 
Said Ashland head football coach Doug Geiser, "Dru has got a big heart, and he's a very giving person. He never meets a stranger. Everybody he meets, he's got a smile on. If it's someone he doesn't know, they'll soon become a friend. He kind of gets it. Very selfless in that respect. It's definitely well-deserving."
 
This is the fourth consecutive season an Eagle has earned a spot on the AFCA Good Works Team, and the fifth time overall since 2016 (see list below). Ashland's streak is tied for the sixth-longest in the program's history.
 
"We attract good people," Geiser said. "First and foremost, it's about the people here. And it's about giving back, giving to others. Dru kind of epitomizes that, and we're very, very proud of him and all the other award winners we've had on the Good Works Team through the years."
 
Johnson has volunteer experience at his alma mater, Van Wert High School, with AU's Fellowship of Christian Athletes, the Greater Cleveland Sports Commission, Ashland Special Olympics, Ashland Southview Grace Brethren Church, Ashland Balloonfest, and more.
 
Johnson saw action in one varsity football game in 2023, after playing in three varsity contests in 2022 and being redshirted in 2021. So far in 2024, he has caught three passes for 54 yards in two games.
 
His cumulative grade-point average through the spring 2024 semester is 3.815 as a Sport Management major.
 
The 23 award recipients bring together:

• 11 players from the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS)
• 11 players from the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), Divisions II, III and the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA)
• 1 honorary head coach

Throughout the season, fans can join the conversation using #GoodWorksTeam on their social media channels to help others learn more about these players and their stories.
 
The Allstate AFCA Good Works Team was established in 1992 by the College Football Association, recognizing the extra efforts made by college football players and student support staff off the field. AFCA became the governing body of the award in 1997 and continues to honor college football players who go the extra mile for those in need. Allstate worked to present the award starting with the 2008 season.
  2024 – Dru Johnson (named to Good Works Team)
2023 – Trent Maddox (named to Good Works Team)
2022 – Austin Brenner (named to Good Works Team)
2021 – Austin Phillips (named to Good Works Team)
2019 – Clay Shreve
2018 – Travis Downing
2016 – Zach Bernhard (named to Good Works Team)