AFCA Release

COLLEGEVILLE, Minn. – Saint John's University junior wide receiver Will Gillach (Lindstrom, Minn./Chisago Lakes) was named one of 22 student-athletes, across all divisions of college football, to the 2017 Allstate American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) Good Works Team on Thursday, Sept. 21.

This year marks the 26th anniversary of the award, which was established in 1992 to recognize a select group of college football players who have made a commitment to service and enriching the lives of others.

A fan vote will run from now until Nov. 23 at www.ESPN.com/Allstate to decide this year's Allstate AFCA Good Works Team Captain, who will be recognized during the national ESPN broadcast of The Home Depot ESPNU College Football Awards in December. 

Gillach (gill-LATCH) is the second Johnnie to be named to the AFCA Good Works Team and one of five honorees from NCAA Division III. All-American defensive lineman Kevin McNamara '07 was SJU's first honoree in 2006. 

Gillach leads the Johnnies in all three receiving categories through the season's first three games this fall: receptions (6), receiving yards (102) and touchdowns (2). He played all 12 games, including starts in each of the last four contests, and caught 23 passes for 299 yards (13.0 avg.) and four touchdowns in 2016. He also averaged 16 yards on eight punt returns. His largest output at receiver was a five-catch performance for 69 yards and a touchdown in the 32-31 NCAA playoff win Nov. 19 over Wisconsin-Platteville. 

In the classroom, Gillach is a biochemistry major (pre-medicine emphasis) with a 3.73 GPA. He recently completed a two-week stem cell and regenerative science workshop at Saint Mary's University (Minn.) through lectures and lab work from medical and research professionals in the stem culture lab. 

Gillach is currently working in the lab of David Mitchell, associate professor of biology at CSB/SJU, examining the prevalence of antibiotic resistance in bacteria located in the central Minnesota area (bacteria from samples from on-campus lakes, the Mississippi River and Sauk River). Another goal of the research is to understand antibiotic-resistant bacteria by sequencing its DNA.

In the community, Gillach serves as a child mentor at Anna Marie's Alliance-Domestic Abuse Shelter in St. Cloud. He was a member of SJU's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and volunteered with Kids Against Hunger in March 2017, where he helped pack nearly 82,400 meals for Somalia and local food shelves. Gillach helped the SJU football team raise money for Tackle Cancer and the "Up Till Dawn" campaign, collecting donations for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in 2015, 2016 and again this fall.
  
Gillach participated in a nine-day medical mission trip to Nicaragua in March 2017, where he served the medical needs of over 300 patients in impoverished communities. He helped local doctors discover, diagnose and treat a variety of medical conditions.    

He shared these values of service and stewardship as guest speaker for the annual Minnesota Masonic Charities banquet in April 2017.

The 2017 Allstate AFCA Good Works Team will be invited to New Orleans to participate in a special community service project ahead of the 2018 Allstate Sugar Bowl, where the entire team will also be recognized on the field at halftime.

In addition, Allstate will honor Good Works Team players by creating special volunteer events in select markets throughout the season in conjunction with its All Hands In program, which encourages the college football community to come together and do good.

Earlier this season, sports information directors from Divison I, Division II, Division III and NAIA schools across the country submitted nominations of players they felt best embodied the spirit of the Good Works Team award. A voting panel was faced with a list of 146 nominees with robust community service resumes that was narrowed down to the 22 student-athletes and an honorary coach named to the team. 

No. 6 SJU (3-0, 1-0 MIAC) travels to Target Field this Saturday, Sept. 23, to face No. 10/11 St. Thomas (2-1, 1-0 MIAC). The 87th meeting between the two programs is set for a 1:10 p.m. kickoff in Minneapolis.