MANHATTAN, Kan. – A charitable person in the community and one of the top safeties in the Big 12, Kansas State senior Denzel Goolsby has been selected as a nominee for the 2019 AFCA Good Works Team, the American Football Coaches Association has announced.
Goolsby’s inclusion on the list marks the 11th for the Wildcats in the last 12 years. Most recently, Dalton Risner was named to the team at season’s end last year and was a candidate in 2017.
Established in 1992, the AFCA Good Works Team continues to be one of the most coveted community service awards in college football. From the 137 nominees, the final roster of 23 award recipients will be announced in September, bringing together 11 players from the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision; 11 players from the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision, Divisions II, III and the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA); and one honorary head coach. To be considered for a spot on the AFCA Good Works Team, each player must be actively involved with a charitable organization or service group while maintaining a strong academic standing.
Among Goolsby’s many community service initiatives is Big Brothers/Big Sisters, an organization he has been involved with since March 2016 and has been paired with a little named Shannon. Goolsby has also donated tours of the Vanier Family Football Complex for Jamie’s Wish Foundation, which raises money for cancer patients.
In addition to team visits to Meadowlark Hills retirement community in Manhattan, Goolsby also visits Avita Senior Living in his hometown of Wichita. He became friends with a woman named Aileen, who he started visiting in high school and continued after he started attending K-State.
Other community service outings include mentoring several underprivileged children in the Manhattan community in which meets with or has dinner with. One of those children has experienced bullying, and the other has been raised by a single mother. Additionally, Goolsby has visited his sister in Denver, Colorado, who teaches underprivileged kids, and has spoken to her class and handed out posters and gloves.
On the field, Goolsby is a two-year starter at safety, accumulating 125 career tackles, eight passes defended and two interceptions. As a sophomore in 2017, Goolsby finished third on the team with 78 tackles and was named the Defensive MVP of K-State’s Cactus Bowl victory over UCLA when he recorded a timely forced fumble and recovery to set up a short field and the Wildcats’ go-ahead touchdown.
The Wildcats begin the 2019 season – the first under head coach Chris Klieman – on Saturday, August 31, with a 6 p.m., contest against Nicholls, a game that will be shown on ESPN+.
Tickets to the home opener and the other six home games in 2019 are on sale now through the K-State Athletics Ticket office online at www.kstatesports.com/tickets, by phone at 1-800-221-CATS or at the main ticket office inside Bramlage Coliseum.
***Credit to Ryan Lackey/Kansas State University***
