NORTHBROOK, Ill. – Cal senior running back Patrick Laird was named Thursday to the 2018 Allstate AFCA Good Works Team® as announced by Allstate Insurance Company and the American Football Coaches Association of America with the assistance of an esteemed voting panel. The prestigious team celebrates 22 student-athletes and one honorary head coach for their extraordinary commitment to making a lasting impact off the field.

"Football programs across the country do an excellent job of giving back to their local communities and helping those in need," AFCA Executive Director Todd Berry said. "The 2018 Allstate AFCA Good Works Team honors those select few student-athletes and one head coach who go above and beyond in the service of others."

Laird launched the Patrick Laird Summer Reading Challenge last April to help fight summer learning loss and promoted it through traditional and social media as well as visits to 26 schools and camps in the Bay Area and near his hometown of Arroyo Grande in the San Luis Obispo area throughout the spring and summer.

Over 3,600 elementary-aged students signed up for the challenge and those that completed it by reading either four (grades 1-2) or six (grades 3-6) books during the summer redeemed a total of 3,000 tickets to Cal's season-opener against North Carolina. Laird spoke to the group after the game while also taking pictures and signing autographs.

The 2018 Allstate AFCA Good Works Team® is comprised of 11 players from the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision, a combined 11 players from the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision, Divisions II, III and the NAIA, and one honorary head coach.

The 2018 Allstate AFCA Good Works Team® will be invited to New Orleans to participate in a special community service project ahead of the 2019 Allstate® Sugar Bowl®, where the entire team will also be recognized on the field during a halftime presentation.

There will also be a 2018 Allstate AFCA Good Works Team® Captain selected with fans encouraged to vote for the team captain by visiting ESPN.com/Allstate now through Nov. 23, 2018. The team captain will be honored Dec. 6 at The Home Depot College Football Awards Show to be televised live from the College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta.

Fans can follow along and join the conversation by using #GoodWorksTeam on their social media channels.

"It's a tremendous honor to be on the Allstate AFCA Good Works Team®," Laird said. "College athletes have an opportunity to make a positive impact on their community, especially to kids who look up to us. Reading is extremely important for childhood education and for whatever kids want to do in their lives. It was a total pleasure to host my summer reading challenge and hear about the positive impact it had on all the kids this past summer. I plan to continue to be involved in promoting education for the rest of my life."

"The Patrick Laird Summer Reading Challenge was a remarkable success," Cal head coach Justin Wilcox said. "We supported his efforts, but this was his idea from the beginning, and he put in a tremendous amount of the leg work to ensure its success. Patrick is passionate about reading and sharing its benefit with others, and it was inspiring to see him positively affect so many children and their families."

Laird becomes the third Cal student-athlete to earn a spot on an Allstate AFCA Good Works Team® following the back-to-back selections of Nick Forbes and Jeffrey Coprich in 2013 and 2014.

Below are notes on Laird with an extended bio available by clicking on his name.
 
Patrick Laird, RB, 6-0, 205, Sr., 2L, Arroyo Grande, CA (Mission Prep)
• A 2018 national honors candidate who in addition to being selected to the Allstate AFCA Good Works Team® is on the watch list for the Maxwell Award and Wuerffel Trophy, while also being named a preseason candidate for the Doak Walker Award in addition to earning second-team preseason All-Pac-12 honors from Athlon and Lindy's as well as being a fourth-team pick of Phil Steele
• Also a candidate for other national honors including the Burlsworth Trophy (nation's top player who began his collegiate career as a walk-on), Campbell Trophy (nation's top combination of academics, community service, and on-field performance) and Senior CLASS Award, among others
• Cal's leading rusher and receiver through the first two games of his 2018 senior campaign with 39 rushes for 125 yards and one touchdown to go along with 11 receptions for 67 yards and two scoring grabs with his 192 all-purpose yards and three total touchdowns also team bests
• An honorable mention All-Pac-12, Cal Bear Backers Offensive Team MVP and CoSIDA Academic All-District® selection as well as one of 10 national semifinalists for the Burlsworth Trophy awarded annually to the nation's most outstanding football player who began his career as a walk-on as a 2017 junior
• Set all of his offensive career highs as a junior when he played in 11 games with eight starts and recorded team highs of 191 rushes, 1127 yards rushing and eight touchdowns on the ground, while adding 45 receptions, 322 yards receiving and one touchdown catch for a team-high 1449 all-purpose yards
• A two-time Pac-12 All-Academic selection who picked up first-team honors as a junior after earning second-team recognition in his sophomore campaign, while also adding CoSIDA Academic All-District® recognition as a junior
• Serving as one of Cal's two season captains as a senior after being a season captain for the final six games of his junior campaign when season captains were named for the final six contests