ATHENS, Ga. — Bulldog junior safety Malaki Starks was named to the 2024 Allstate AFCA Good Works Team on Tuesday. Starks is one of 11 players from the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) selected based on their commitment to community service.
Georgia leads the nation in Allstate AFCA Good Works Team honorees with 24 since the award’s inception in 1992, including 19 since 2000.
For 33 years, the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) has recognized a select group of college football players committed to making a difference in their communities. There were also 11 players chosen from the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), Divisions II, III and the NAIA. University of Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman was named the Honorary Head Coach.
This marks the first year that the Good Works Team provides the candidates for the Allstate Wuerffel Trophy winner, which former Bulldog and current L.A. Charger Ladd McConkey won in 2023.
Starks, a native of Jefferson, Ga., is one of five players from the Southeastern Conference on the FBS 2024 Allstate AFCA Good Works Team. The SEC leads all conferences with 89 all-time selections.
The Bulldogs’ previous Good Works Team honorees are Alec Millen in 1992, Travis Jones in 1993, Brian Smith in 1995, Matt Stinchcomb in 1997 and 1998, Brett Millican in 2000, Jon Stinchcomb in 2001, David Greene in 2003, D.J. Shockley in 2005, Quentin Moses in 2006, Kelin Johnson in 2007, Jeff Owens in 2009, Aron White in 2011, Aaron Murray in 2012, Chris Conley in 2014, Malcolm Mitchell in 2015, Jeb Blazevich in 2016, Aaron Davis in 2017, Rodrigo Blankenship in 2018, Jake Fromm in 2019, Nakobe Dean in 2021, Kearis Jackson in 2022 and McConkey in 2023.
Both Dean in 2021 and Mitchell in 2015 were voted captains of their respective Good Works Teams.
Starks has given his time to the community in a variety of ways, including working at the Wilderness Works Football Camp where he conducted a football camp for 30 youth at Atlanta’s Cabbagetown Park; hosted participants for the Next Gen Tour of UGA, which is a tour of the University of Georgia and impromptu football camp; assisted with the donation of $10,000 to Athens-area schools in association with the Georgia Teachers Initiative, which was created by the College Football Playoff Foundation; teamed with Dick’s Sporting Goods to provide $300 gift cards during the Christmas holidays to 16 deserving youth from the Boys & Girls Club of Athens; in addition to working with a number of other local charities and groups.
On the field, Starks has started 31 of 32 games in his three-year career, earning 2023 Consensus All-America honors for the 13-1 Bulldogs. He has 131 tackles in his career to go along with six picks during a 31-1 stretch that includes the 2022 national championship. This season, Starks has 11 stops and an interception and is part of a Bulldog defense that has yet to allow a touchdown.
The Allstate Wuerffel Trophy, college football’s premier award for community service, is presented to one of the 11 FBS players elected to the Allstate AFCA Good Works Team who best combines exemplary community service with leadership and performance on and off the field. Named after Heisman Trophy winner and College Football Hall of Famer Danny Wuerffel, the award honors the former NFL quarterback’s commitment to inspiring greater service and unity in the world.
The 2024 Allstate Wuerffel Trophy finalists and recipient will be selected by a national voting committee, including a fan vote component. The 2024 recipient, who will also be recognized as the Allstate AFCA Good Works Team captain, will be announced live on The Home Depot College Football Awards show on December 12, airing on ESPN.
Fans can cast their vote by November 15 at ESPN.com/Allstate.
The full roster of the 2024 Allstate AFCA Good Works Team and their stories of community service can be found at ESPN.com/Allstate.
Following an off week on Saturday, the No. 2 Bulldogs (3-0, 1-0 SEC) travel to Tuscaloosa, Ala., to play No. 4 Alabama (3-0, 0-0) on Sept. 28. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET and the ABC will televise the matchup.
