ASHLAND — Ashland University senior linebacker Zach Bernhard is one of 165 nominees nationwide for the 2016 Allstate American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) Good Works Team®.
In 11 games as a junior in 2015, Bernhard recorded 15 total tackles, a sack and a tackle for loss. It was his second consecutive season as a top defensive backup and a special teams performer.
Bernhard is the President of the AU Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, as well as a three-time member of the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference All-Academic Excellence Team (cumulative grade-point average of 3.50 or higher). He had a 3.61 cumulative GPA as an undergrad, and has a 3.78 GPA in the MBA program.
A 2012 Ashland High School graduate, Bernhard earned first team All-Ohio Cardinal Conference and first team all-area in 2011 his senior year of high school. That season, he also was first team All-NCOCA, second team All-Northwest District and was a finalist for the Wendy’s High School Heisman in Ohio. As a senior Bernhard threw for 2,460 yards with 20 touchdown passes and rushed for 336 yards with eight scores.
This year marks the 25th anniversary of the Allstate AFCA Good Works Team®, established to recognize a select group of college football players who have made a commitment to service and enriching the lives of others. The twenty-five members of the 2016 squad – 12 from the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision, 12 from the NCAA Football Championship Division/Division II/Division III/NAIA and an honorary head coach – will be announced in September.
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