Justin Cody Named 2024 Allstate AFCA Good Works Teams Nominee and Allstate Wuerffel Trophy Watch List
8/1/2024 4:41:00 PM | Football
The 2024 Allstate AFCA Good Works Team announces a record 178 nominees, representing players and coaches from colleges and universities across the country, while a record 111 nominees representing players from college football’s Football Bowl Subdivision were named to the Wuerffel Trophy Watch List.
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - Wake Forest football redshirt senior defensive lineman Justin Cody was named as a nominee for both the AFCA Good Works Team and Wuerffel Trophy Watch List, as announced by the organizations.
Cody had his best season in the Old Black & Gold as a redshirt junior appearing in 11 games for the Deacs during the 2023 season. He finished the season with a career-high 13 tackles with three solo tackles and a career-high 2.0 tackles-for-loss.
The Seffner, Florida native had a breakout game with a career-high and season-high three tackles against Clemson and continued the strong stretch of play the following week with a career-high and season-high 1.0 tackle-for-loss against Virginia Tech.
Over the past year, Cody completed numerous community service projects and embodied the Pro Humanitate motto in the Winston-Salem community en route to being named a Good Works Team Nominee.
List of Justin Cody's Community Service Projects
Freedom School Field Day: The Wake Forest football team hosted a field day for a summer school program for Forsyth County K-5th grade youth. Volunteers were responsible for engaging with the kids with a facilities tour, fun activities, mentorship, and a kickball game.
Hit The Bricks: Winston-Salem community comes together to raise money for cancer research by joining a marathon that records the distance of each racer. The longer participants run results in more money to be donated to cancer research. Volunteers have 12 hours to run as long as they'd like to raise as much money as they can.
Project Pumpkin: Wake Forest University invites the local families and children to campus for a trunk or treat event made up of volunteers from the Wake staff/faculty/students. Volunteers provide fun games, treats, and activities for the participants.
Santa's Helper: Wake Forest Athletic department invites their staff and student athletes to select shifts to pack and deliver donated gifts to the kids and families in the local community. Volunteers are able to choose between shifts that cover 3 days of service which allows local families and children to happily celebrate the Christmas holiday with presents.
Milkshake Monday: The Wake Forest Office of Campus life and Housing partners with different departments across campus to promote a loving and engaging environment. The partnership required WFU Football coaches/Student athletes to hand out milkshakes to passing Wake Forest community members while encouraging all to be engaging community members.
Wake N Shake: Winston-Salem community comes together to raise money for cancer research by joining a dance marathon that records how long everyone dances. The longer participants dance results in more money to be donated to cancer research. Volunteers have 12 hours to dance for as long as they'd like while they raise as much money as they can.
Pump Up For Piccolo: The Wake Forest Football team partners with the PIKE fraternity to host a workout competition to raise money for cancer research. Volunteers are a make up of Wake Forest Sorority/Fraternity members and WFU Student-Athletes who agree to be split up into 12 groups and compete against each other. Every rep of each drill donates money towards cancer research.
D.E.S.K: DESK is an acronym for Discovering Education through Student Knowledge which is an engaging activity to create a positive study space for 4th graders in the local community. Volunteers will gather a group to paint desks with 4th graders in the local community in hopes that it will keep them excited about education and going to school every day.
5th Grade Mentorship Group Liaison: Student-Athlete has partnered with a local non-profit to cultivate leadership skills in young boys to prepare them to be active and responsible leaders in their communities. As a Liason, student-athletes meet with the group of boys bi weekly, host field trips to Wake forest football facilities, and host pizza parties and special events to assist with leadership development.
5th Grade Graduation Ceremony Speaker: Student-Athlete was invited to speak as the 2024 5th grade graduation speaker. Invitation was granted due to the students' consistency with educating and working with the 5th grade boys. Student-athletes had to prepare and be a part of multiple meetings to assure success.
About the Allstate AFCA Good Works Team
Established in 1992, the Allstate AFCA Good Works Team recognizes college football athletes for their unwavering commitment to community service and their "good works" off the field. This year's 178 nominees champion causes including mental health awareness, youth mentorship, hunger relief, domestic abuse prevention, and many more. In addition to being actively involved with a charitable organization or service group, each player must also maintain strong academic standing to be considered for a spot on the Allstate AFCA Good Works Team.
"You'll never regret making someone else's life better," said Tim Tebow, two-time national champion, Heisman Trophy winner, 2008 Wuerffel Trophy recipient, and 2009 Allstate AFCA Good Works Team member. "Year after year, I'm inspired by these incredible nominees who go above and beyond to help others."
The final roster of 23 award recipients announced later in September will bring together:
Eleven players from the NCAA FBS
Eleven players from the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), Divisions II, III and the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA)
One honorary head coach
All members are selected by a voting panel of former Allstate AFCA Good Works Team members, current and former head coaches and journalists who look for exceptional leadership on and off the football field.
Fans can join the conversation on social media with #GoodWorksTeam throughout the season.
The Allstate Wuerffel Trophy
The Allstate Wuerffel Trophy, college football's premier award for community service, is presented annually to the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) player who best combines exemplary community service with leadership and performance on and off the field. Named after Heisman Trophy winner and College Football Hall of Famer Danny Wuerffel, the award honors the former NFL quarterback's commitment to inspiring greater service and unity in the world.
"Our partnership with Allstate and the Allstate AFCA Good Works Team builds upon the purposeful impact of these awards," said Wuerffel. "We want to inspire college athletes to be community-minded, live for others, and sacrifice their own interests for the benefit of other people."
The 2024 Allstate Wuerffel Trophy recipient will be selected by a national voting committee and announced on The Home Depot/ESPN College Football Awards Show in December. Only FBS players elected to the Allstate AFCA Good Works Team are eligible for the honor, which replaces the Allstate AFCA Good Works Team captain.
Established in 2005, this year marks the 20th anniversary of the first Wuerffel Trophy, awarded to Rudy Niswanger of LSU, followed by eighteen recipients. Georgia's Ladd McConkey was most recently honored with the award and named to the Allstate AFCA Good Works Team in 2023. Throughout this season, the Wuerffel Foundation will reflect on these first nineteen recipients and honor the history of college football's premier award for community service.
Cody had his best season in the Old Black & Gold as a redshirt junior appearing in 11 games for the Deacs during the 2023 season. He finished the season with a career-high 13 tackles with three solo tackles and a career-high 2.0 tackles-for-loss.
The Seffner, Florida native had a breakout game with a career-high and season-high three tackles against Clemson and continued the strong stretch of play the following week with a career-high and season-high 1.0 tackle-for-loss against Virginia Tech.
Over the past year, Cody completed numerous community service projects and embodied the Pro Humanitate motto in the Winston-Salem community en route to being named a Good Works Team Nominee.
List of Justin Cody's Community Service Projects
Freedom School Field Day: The Wake Forest football team hosted a field day for a summer school program for Forsyth County K-5th grade youth. Volunteers were responsible for engaging with the kids with a facilities tour, fun activities, mentorship, and a kickball game.
Hit The Bricks: Winston-Salem community comes together to raise money for cancer research by joining a marathon that records the distance of each racer. The longer participants run results in more money to be donated to cancer research. Volunteers have 12 hours to run as long as they'd like to raise as much money as they can.
Project Pumpkin: Wake Forest University invites the local families and children to campus for a trunk or treat event made up of volunteers from the Wake staff/faculty/students. Volunteers provide fun games, treats, and activities for the participants.
Santa's Helper: Wake Forest Athletic department invites their staff and student athletes to select shifts to pack and deliver donated gifts to the kids and families in the local community. Volunteers are able to choose between shifts that cover 3 days of service which allows local families and children to happily celebrate the Christmas holiday with presents.
Milkshake Monday: The Wake Forest Office of Campus life and Housing partners with different departments across campus to promote a loving and engaging environment. The partnership required WFU Football coaches/Student athletes to hand out milkshakes to passing Wake Forest community members while encouraging all to be engaging community members.
Wake N Shake: Winston-Salem community comes together to raise money for cancer research by joining a dance marathon that records how long everyone dances. The longer participants dance results in more money to be donated to cancer research. Volunteers have 12 hours to dance for as long as they'd like while they raise as much money as they can.
Pump Up For Piccolo: The Wake Forest Football team partners with the PIKE fraternity to host a workout competition to raise money for cancer research. Volunteers are a make up of Wake Forest Sorority/Fraternity members and WFU Student-Athletes who agree to be split up into 12 groups and compete against each other. Every rep of each drill donates money towards cancer research.
D.E.S.K: DESK is an acronym for Discovering Education through Student Knowledge which is an engaging activity to create a positive study space for 4th graders in the local community. Volunteers will gather a group to paint desks with 4th graders in the local community in hopes that it will keep them excited about education and going to school every day.
5th Grade Mentorship Group Liaison: Student-Athlete has partnered with a local non-profit to cultivate leadership skills in young boys to prepare them to be active and responsible leaders in their communities. As a Liason, student-athletes meet with the group of boys bi weekly, host field trips to Wake forest football facilities, and host pizza parties and special events to assist with leadership development.
5th Grade Graduation Ceremony Speaker: Student-Athlete was invited to speak as the 2024 5th grade graduation speaker. Invitation was granted due to the students' consistency with educating and working with the 5th grade boys. Student-athletes had to prepare and be a part of multiple meetings to assure success.
About the Allstate AFCA Good Works Team
Established in 1992, the Allstate AFCA Good Works Team recognizes college football athletes for their unwavering commitment to community service and their "good works" off the field. This year's 178 nominees champion causes including mental health awareness, youth mentorship, hunger relief, domestic abuse prevention, and many more. In addition to being actively involved with a charitable organization or service group, each player must also maintain strong academic standing to be considered for a spot on the Allstate AFCA Good Works Team.
"You'll never regret making someone else's life better," said Tim Tebow, two-time national champion, Heisman Trophy winner, 2008 Wuerffel Trophy recipient, and 2009 Allstate AFCA Good Works Team member. "Year after year, I'm inspired by these incredible nominees who go above and beyond to help others."
The final roster of 23 award recipients announced later in September will bring together:
Eleven players from the NCAA FBS
Eleven players from the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), Divisions II, III and the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA)
One honorary head coach
All members are selected by a voting panel of former Allstate AFCA Good Works Team members, current and former head coaches and journalists who look for exceptional leadership on and off the football field.
Fans can join the conversation on social media with #GoodWorksTeam throughout the season.
The Allstate Wuerffel Trophy
The Allstate Wuerffel Trophy, college football's premier award for community service, is presented annually to the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) player who best combines exemplary community service with leadership and performance on and off the field. Named after Heisman Trophy winner and College Football Hall of Famer Danny Wuerffel, the award honors the former NFL quarterback's commitment to inspiring greater service and unity in the world.
"Our partnership with Allstate and the Allstate AFCA Good Works Team builds upon the purposeful impact of these awards," said Wuerffel. "We want to inspire college athletes to be community-minded, live for others, and sacrifice their own interests for the benefit of other people."
The 2024 Allstate Wuerffel Trophy recipient will be selected by a national voting committee and announced on The Home Depot/ESPN College Football Awards Show in December. Only FBS players elected to the Allstate AFCA Good Works Team are eligible for the honor, which replaces the Allstate AFCA Good Works Team captain.
Established in 2005, this year marks the 20th anniversary of the first Wuerffel Trophy, awarded to Rudy Niswanger of LSU, followed by eighteen recipients. Georgia's Ladd McConkey was most recently honored with the award and named to the Allstate AFCA Good Works Team in 2023. Throughout this season, the Wuerffel Foundation will reflect on these first nineteen recipients and honor the history of college football's premier award for community service.
Players Mentioned
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/ FootballFootball Media Availability (9/18/25)
Thursday, September 18
QB Robbie Ashford takes it himself for the score
Thursday, September 11
Chris Barnes scores the TD on the game's first kick
Thursday, September 11
Matt Barrie SportsCenter at Wake Forest with Demond Claiborne
Wednesday, September 10