Pingel named to Allstate AFCA Good Works Team

NORTHBROOK, ILL. – Allstate and the American Football Coaches Association revealed the members of the 2024 Allstate AFCA Good Works Team today, naming Isaac Pingel to this year's roster. Pingel is one of just two athletes from National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics schools to receive the honor.

"I was honestly shocked," recalled Pingel of receiving the news of his selection. "It's such an honor to represent Morningside and the football team on the Allstate AFCA Good Works Team. This is truly a blessing from God, and I owe all thanks to Him for putting me in the situation I am in and surrounding me with great people."

Pingel's selection showcases a resume of service. From efforts to help with tornado cleanup as recently as early this summer in Blair, Neb. and Greenfield, Iowa, to mission trips to the Dominican Republic, Cuba, and Uganda, the senior from Spencer, Iowa has demonstrated that the football field is not the only place that he's willing to work.

In the Dominican Republic, Pingel's mission work alongside the football team consisted of painting houses and building fences for local families, playing basketball with locals, and spending quality time in the homes of their hosts, absorbing their culture and learning from them. 

The trip to Cuba saw gatherings in a local square where children would meet to play games, sing, and worship, painting of a newly refurbished missionary that a local church was starting, and sharing scripture with a local Bible study.

Uganda had an emphasis on interactions for Pingel and his teammates, as they spent much of their trip playing, teaching, and worshiping with kids. He was able to fill in as a teacher for a classroom of sixth graders, teaching them addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. The trip also included building fencing for a church and school, painting, cleaning, and building new schoolhouses. 

Pingel is also giving of his time locally, from volunteering at Sunnybrook Community Church's Enchanted Evening, packing meals with Morningside student group Sustainable Environment Association (SEA) at Radiant Life Church, and helping host Morningside's youth football camp where he calls the audible and moves to quarterback of the camp's two-hand-touch football games to volunteering at a local elementary school and participating in Into the Streets.

"I'm incredibly blessed to work with so many great young men," reflected Morningside head football coach Steve Ryan. "Isaac Pingel is one of the many that just makes my job incredible."

Annually, the Allstate and the AFCA name 22 athletes to the Good Works Team, with 11 representing the National Collegiate Athletic Association Football Bowl Subdivision and 11 representing Football Subdivisions II and III and the NAIA. There were a record 178 nominees across all divisions for this year's team.

"The Good Works Team embodies Allstate's work to improve communities," said Troy Hawkes, Allstate executive vice president and general manager. "We're inspired by these award recipients and the positive impact they are having on so many people."

"It is amazing to see the extra efforts and community service these 22 young men put out on a daily basis," said Craig Bohl, AFCA executive director.

Pignel joins seven previous Morningside selections to the Good Works Team, following Colby Rohde in 2011, Jordan Sitzmann in 2013, Luke Grooters in 2016, Trent Solsma in 2018, Jake Katzer in 2019, and teammates Sione Tuifua in 2022 and KJ Williams in 2023.

Fans can vote for the Allstate AFCA Good Works Team captain at ESPN.com/Allstate, voting once per day through Nov. 15 at ESPN.com/Allstate.