UCF center and Lake Brantley High School graduate Joey Grant picked up one of the biggest honors of the preseason Tuesday as the junior was named a nominee for the Allstate American Football Coaches Association Good Works Team.

By being selected a nominee, Grant was recognized for his charitable involvement and community service contributions at UCF and in the Orlando area. Since its establishment in 1992, the award has existed to pay tribute to the “good” in college football that extends beyond the wins and losses. While balancing academics and athletics, this select group of student-athletes nominated by their respective colleges and universities has committed their limited free time to having a lasting impact on their communities.

Comprised of 11 players from the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision and 11 players from the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision, Divisions II, III and the NAIA, the final roster of 22 award recipients will be unveiled in September.

In order to meet the criteria set forth by Allstate and the AFCA, each player must be actively involved and committed to working with a charitable organization or service group while maintaining a strong academic standing.

Grant has spent three seasons with the Knights, and enters his redshirt junior campaign on the Rimington Trophy Watch List for the nation’s most outstanding center. He began as a defensive lineman before switching over to center in the spring of 2013 and did not look back. Grant’s efforts on the offensive line helped pave the way for UCF to post a 12-1 record and win the American Athletic Conference as well as the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl.

More impressively, Grant has several off-the-field accomplishments as well. He has been an American Athletic Conference Dr. Pepper Academic Player of the Week, on the league’s academic honor roll, the UCF Dean’s List and the UCF President’s Honor Roll.

Grant is scheduled to graduate with a degree in business-entrepreneurship in August, and is an active member in UCF’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee.

In the community, Grant has visited with children from numerous schools in town as well as at Nemours Children’s Hospital. He also spends time as a volunteer for the Special Olympics, Miracle League and Relay for Life. Grant is the co-director of UCF Pack-2-Attack food drive and the co-creator of Boot Camp for Base Camp, a second-chance program for terminally-ill children.

Article provided by UCFAthletics.com.