LAWRENCE, Kan. – Kansas football player Mike Rivera is one of 45 nominees for the 17th annual Allstate AFCA Good Works Team. The team recognizes college football players for their work in the community. The final 11-man team will be announced in mid to late September.

Rivera, a senior from Shawnee Mission, Kan. has been heavily involved in KU’s community service projects during his Jayhawk career.

“"Mike embraces the unique opportunity he has as a KU student-athlete to make a positive impact on our community.” said Mike Harrity, Assistant Athletics Director, Student-Athlete Development and Community Relations at Kansas. “Whether he is visiting an elementary school as part of our Jayhawks READ program or helping to build a home with Habitat for Humanity, Mike enjoys giving something back to the community that has shown so much support for Kansas football. The team has followed his lead, as they participated in more community service events this past year than ever before."

On the field, the third-year starter at linebacker is a candidate for the Chuck Bednarik Award, which is given to the nation’s most outstanding defensive player. Rivera recorded 90 tackles as a sophomore in 2006 and upped that number to 96 a year ago.

The 6-3, 255-pounder was an All-Big 12 Honorable Mention selection in 2007, while also earning Academic All-Big 12 First Team honors and KU’s Community Service Award.

Here is a look at the 45 Football Bowl Subdivision nominees:

Arizona State University – Keegan Herring

Ball State University – Brandon Crawford

Central Michigan University – Brian Brunner

Colorado State University – Kyle Bell

Duke University – Re'quan Boyette

Florida State University – Everette Brown

Indiana University – Austin Starr

Iowa State University – Euseph Messiah

Kansas State University – Jeron Mastrud

Middle Tennessee State University – Phillip Tanner

North Carolina State University – Andre Brown

Northern Illinois University – Matt Simon

Northwestern University – Eric Peterman

Ohio State University – James Laurinaitis

Rutgers University – Tiquan Underwood

Syracuse University – Lavar Lobdell

Temple University – Richard Sheppard

Texas Tech University – Brian Duncan

Tulane University – Craig Gelhardt

U.S. Air Force Academy – Travis Dekker

University of Arkansas – Jose Valdez

University of California – Alex Mack

University of Colorado – Maurice Cantrell

University of Connecticut – Brad Kanuch

University of Georgia – Mohamed Massaquoi

University of Illinois – Brit Miller

University of Kansas – Mike Rivera

University of Kentucky – Tim Masthay

University of Maryland – Jordan Steffy

University of Memphis – Dominik Riley

University of Nebraska – Todd Peterson

University of Notre Dame – Evan Sharpley

University of Oklahoma – Gerald McCoy

University of Pittsburgh – Scott McKillop

University of South Carolina – Eric Norwood

University of South Florida – George Selvie

University of Tennessee – Josh Briscoe

University of Texas – Colt McCoy

University of Toledo – John Allen

University of Wisconsin – Chris Pressley

Utah State University – Geno Odong

Virginia Tech – Orion Martin

Wake Forest University – Benjamin Wooster

West Virginia University – Tito Gonzales

Western Michigan University – Tim Hiller