Geno Odong a Nominee for AFCA Good Works Team

Utah State University sophomore football player Geno Odong has been selected as a nominee for the Allstate American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) Good Works Team.

“This is a prestigious award and I’m very grateful for the nomination,” Odong said.

 

Odong, a cornerback from Las Vegas, Nev. (Valley HS), is one of 71 football players nominated for the Good Works Team, as well as being the only player nominated from a Utah school and the Western Athletic Conference.

 

“I hadn’t heard of the award before so to be singled out for this distinguished award is a tremendous honor and one that I am extremely grateful for,” Odong said. “This goes to show that all the hard work and effort pays off. I’m very grateful for this recognition.”

 

“Geno is the epitome of what a student-athlete should strive to be,” USU head coach Brent Guy said. “He goes above and beyond his responsibilities as a person, a student and an athlete. He’s involved in the community, on campus and is a leader on our team. It’s an honor to be around a terrific individual like Geno. He’s the type of young man that you hope your son grows up to be like.”

 

Off the field, Odong is involved in USU’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and is an Aggie Ambassador, a program committed to serving the local community and a program that reaches a diverse population and speaks on topics of local as well as national significance.

 

Additionally, Odong was also an NCAA National Student-Athlete Development Conference Nominee for Utah State.

 

“I represent the African-American group here and we bring forth people who are not originally from this area to talk about experiences that help make the transition easier, mainly for freshman, but for all the student-athletes,” Odong said. “We cover everything from sports to academics, just to give them an idea of what we went through to help them make the transition from high school to college easier, as well as from their community to Logan.”

 

While he is undecided on a major, Odong has a 3.04 GPA and earned academic all-WAC honors in 2007. Odong is looking into majoring in exercise science with an emphasis in physical therapy with the primary goal to be involved with the athletes in their progress and development.

 

On the field, Odong was selected as one of USU’s season captains last year, something very rare for a redshirt freshman, as well as serving as a game captain for three contests.

 

“He was the captain of our team as a redshirt freshman and that just shows how much respect he has from his teammates and how well he contributes to our football team,” Guy said. “He’ll play a lot more at corner for us this season, as well as on special teams. There’s not a guy more deserving of this honor than Geno. With everything that he has overcome in life, he’s very deserving of this award.”

 

Odong enters this fall battling for a starting cornerback spot after seeing action in all 12 games last season, starting three games. He ranked 10th on the team last year with 38 tackles, including two tackles for loss as well as tallying one interception and one forced fumble.

 

Odong is one of 71 student-athletes named to the Allstate AFCA Good Hands Team selected out of the more than 50,000 student-athletes participating in football at all four-year collegiate institutions. Of those 71 nominees, 45 are players from NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision (I-A) level schools while the remaining 36 represent NCAA Football Championship Subdivision (I-AA), Divisions II, III and the NAIA programs.

 

A committee will select 11 players from each level for the 2008 Allstate AFCA Good Works Team, to be announced in September.

 

The Allstate AFCA Good Works Teams were established in 1992 by the College Football Association, recognizing the extra efforts made by college football players and student support staff off the field. AFCA became the governing body of the award in 1997 and continues to honor college football players who go the extra mile for those in need.

 

Odong and the Aggies have their first scrimmage on Saturday [Aug. 9] at 4 p.m. at Romney Stadium. USU opens the 2008 season on Saturday, Aug. 30, at UNLV at 8 p.m. (MT).

 

The first major scrimmage is slated for Saturday, Aug. 16, as part of Aggie Football Family Fun Night, sponsored by Macey’s Foods with free admission. The scrimmage starts at 4 p.m., while games and activities for fans getting underway on the South Concourse of Romney Stadium at 4 p.m. as well. Following the scrimmage, from 6-7 p.m., fans can get their favorite Aggies’ autographs and play catch with an Aggie on the field. Fans can also pick up their season tickets or purchase tickets at the Romney Stadium Box Office.

 

Aggie football tickets are available in person through the USU Ticket Office at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum, online 24 hours a day at www.UtahStateAggies.com and clicking on “tickets” in left column, or by phone by calling 1-888-USTATE-1 or (435) 797-0305.