The American Football Coaches Association announced today that Clemson running back Darien Rencher has been named to the 2021 Allstate AFCA Good Works Team for his service work in the Upstate South Carolina community.
Rencher becomes the eighth member of the Clemson program all-time to earn an AFCA Good Works Team distinction, joining Robert Carswell (1999), Nick Eason (2000), Xavier Dye (2009), Deshaun Watson (2016), Sean Pollard (2018), Dabo Swinney (2019) and Trevor Lawrence (2020). This marks Clemson’s fourth straight year with an AFCA Good Works team selection.
The Good Works Team selection adds to Rencher’s growing list of community accolades. Last year, he earned the 2020 Disney Spirit Award for his leadership amid college football’s push to overcome social injustice and mobilize the #WeWantToPlay movement during the COVID-19 pandemic. Earlier this year, he was named as Clemson’s 2021 Community MVP as nominated by Dabo Swinney at the South Carolina Coaches for Charity event benefiting the Fisher DeBerry Foundation.
The accolades for Rencher — a native of nearby Anderson, S.C. — honor his distinguished service record in his six years at Clemson. In addition to becoming an in-demand public speaker, he has volunteered to benefit underserved local youths at “Kicks, Cleats, Kids,” served Golden Harvest Food Bank and Anderson Interfaith Ministries, conducted classroom readings at Clemson Elementary, visited seniors at a local retirement community, volunteered with pediatric cancer patients, participated in the Call Me MISTER program and more.
The full 2021 Allstate AFCA Good Works Team is included below.
Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS)Darien Rencher, Clemson UniversityCamren McDonald, Florida State UniversityHarry Miller, Ohio State UniversityMac Brown, Ole MissSean Clifford, Penn State UniversityNakobe Dean, University of GeorgiaKenneth Horsey, University of KentuckyCal Adomitis, University of PittsburghMo Hasan, University of Southern CaliforniaRace Porter, University of WashingtonElijah McAllister, Vanderbilt University
Football Championship Subdivision, Divisions II, III, and NAIAAustin Phillips, Ashland UniversityJaran Roste, Bethel University (Minn.)Chibuike Odo, Davidson CollegeDeven Osborne, Dixie State UniversityAlnazir Blackman, Farleigh Dickinson University-FlorhamPhilip Green, Minot State UniversityJessie Malit, North Carolina Central UniversityAlex Shillow, Texas A&M University-CommerceHunter Rodrigues, UC DavisDeValon Whitcomb, University of South DakotaJulius Wilkerson, Wayne State University
Honorary Head CoachMatt Wells, Texas Tech University
To learn more about the 2021 AFCA Good Works Team, including stories surrounding players’ accomplishments within their communities, visit ESPN.com/Allstate.
