Fifth-year Iowa punter Eric Guthrie has been named as one of 56 nominees for the Allstate American Football Coaches Association Good Works Team by Allstate Insurance and the association.
The program honors college football players who provide "selfless contributions to volunteerism and community service" away from the field, according to a release.
Guthrie, a 6-6, 245-pound redshirt senior from Nevada, Iowa, lent his services to several community relief projects following the 2008 floods. He worked with the Salvation Army to hand out supplies, helped lay sandbags in Coralville, and joined former Hawkeye Chad Greenway in cleaning up the Little League baseball diamonds in Iowa City’s City Park.
More recently, Guthrie has entertained kids at Dance Marathon, handed out water at the Solstice Stride 5K Run/Walk, and served pancakes at the Legacy Retirement Home in an effort to raise awareness of Alzheimer’s disease.
The 22-year-old has donated blood to the DeGowin Blood Center, participated in the Hawkeye Reader Program that promotes reading and literature to elementary school students, and regularly visits the University of Iowa Children’s Hospital.
Guthrie’s only game action of his Iowa career came in 2010, when he had one punt for 32 yards in Iowa’s 35-7 win over Iowa State. He holds 15 school kicking and punting records at Nevada High, where he also played wide receiver and defensive back and earned letters in basketball and baseball.
— by Seth Roberts