Sept. 14, 2006

BALTIMORE, MD - Johns Hopkins senior defensive end Brian Nickel (Waupun, WI/Waupun) is one of 11 Division I-AA, Division II, Division III and NAIA football players who have been named to the 2006 American Football Coaches Association's (AFCA) Good Works Team. Two 11-man teams, a Division I-A Team and a combined Division I-AA, II, III and NAIA Team, were selected. The selection of Nickel marks the second consecutive year the Johns Hopkins football team has placed a player on the prestigious team as Jim Sanders '06 was selected last year. Johns Hopkins is one of just six schools in the nation (at all levels) to have a player selected in each of the last two years (Nebraska, Tennessee, Georgia, St. Thomas (MN), North Dakota State).

Nominations for the Good Works Team were submitted to the AFCA, which in turn selected the two 11-man teams. Nominees must be actively involved and committed to working with a charitable organization, service group or involved in other community service activities.

Nickel has been actively involved in several community service and volunteer projects since arriving at Johns Hopkins as a freshman in 2003. Since arriving at Homewood he has volunteered each year at Penn Lucia, a church in downtown Baltimore. Through the church he has spent countless hours working with inner-city children in a variety of academic areas with an emphasis on computer technology, math and reading.

For the last two years Nickel has also volunteered at a nursing home and has spent a majority of his time with individuals confined to the dementia ward. As each individual in this area is at a different stage of dementia, his activities vary greatly and have included reading and talking with patients and assisting professional staff members.

Nickel's activities have also included an active role with Johns Hopkins' Greek Christian Fellowship as he has hosted and led a weekly Bible study since his freshman year that has included athletes and fraternity members.

In addition to his volunteer activities, Nickel was one of just one of just 35 individuals nation-wide selected for a prestigious Howard Hughes Summer Research Fellowship (summer, 2006). Selected among the largest pool of applicants in the program's history, he spent the summer researching cancer cells and examining the mechanism of their growth. After just two weeks he was asked to stay on during the 2006-07 academic year to complete further research.

A three-year letter winner, two-time member of the Centennial Conference Football Academic Honor Roll, a Second Team 2004 ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District selection and a First Team 2005 ESPN the Magazine Academic All-District pick, Nickel is in his second year as a starting defensive end for the Blue Jays. He has played in 31 games in his career and has started all 13 since the beginning of the 2005 season. He posted career highs of 52 tackles, 10 tackles for losses and 4.0 sacks last season, when he guided the Blue Jays to their fourth consecutive Centennial Conference Championship and first-ever appearance in the NCAA Playoffs.

Nickel is majoring in Natural Science (Pre-Med.) and boasts a 3.61 cumulative grade point average. He is currently a candidate for a National Football Foundation Postgraduate Scholarship and plans to attend medical school.

- 30 -