NORTHBROOK, IL – Johns Hopkins University rising senior linebacker Browning Trainer is among the 162 college football players nationwide who have been nominated for the 2026 Allstate AFCA Good Works Team® it was announced today.
 
Established in 1992, the Allstate AFCA Good Works Team recognizes college football athletes for their unwavering commitment to community service and their "good works" off the field. This year's 162 nominees champion causes ranging from mental health and youth mentorship to supporting children with disabilities and veterans.  In addition to being actively involved with a charitable organization or service group, each player must also maintain strong academic standing to be considered for a spot on the Allstate AFCA Good Works Team.
 
From the 162 nominees, the final roster of 23 award recipients announced in September will bring together:

• 11 players from the NCAA FBS
• 11 players from the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), Divisions II, III and the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA)
• 1 honorary head coach

 
All members are selected by a voting panel of former Allstate AFCA Good Works Team members, current and former head coaches and journalists who look for exceptional leadership on and off the football field.
 
To be considered for a spot on the Allstate AFCA Good Works Team^®, each player must be actively involved with a charitable organization or service group while maintaining a strong academic standing.
 
Trainer is majoring in economics with minors in business, financial economics and environmental studies and carries a 3.66 cumulative grade point average.  A CSC Academic All-District selection in 2025 who has also twice been named to the Centennial Conference Academic Honor Roll, Trainer has been named to the Dean's List five times and was a Second Team All-Centennial Conference selection last season after leading the team with 102 tackles, including 11.5 for losses.  He has been elected a team captain for the upcoming 2026 season.
 
Among Trainer's key initiatives:
 
Blue Jays for Baltimore (BJB)
Current President
Fall 2024 – Present
• Has held a number of positions on the board of Blue Jays for Baltimore, a non-profit organization established in 2023 by Johns Hopkins student-athletes.  The missions of BJB is to empower Baltimore City youth through academic and athletic programs while fostering leadership skills among Hopkins athletes.
• Served as a board member for first two semesters in the organization before being elected Director of Fundraising (spring, 2025) and then President (spring, 2026).
• Key initiatives he has been involved with include the operation of the organization's annual golf tournament and a 7v7 flag football tournament.
• As the fundraising chair, developed three outreach templates and a tracking system to streamline fundraising campaigns resulting in $30K raised in the second annual golf tournament and $5K raised from a cruise fundraiser.
• Since taking over as President in the spring of 2026, selected the 10-person executive board for the 2026-27 academic year, established a grant-writing team and built and implemented protocols for tracking workflow.
• As President, manages an organization with more than 100 volunteers and 10 community partners.
 
Pen Lucy Action Network
Tutor
Fall 2023 – Present
• Works with a local elementary school student weekly to supplement in-school learning and build a one-on-one mentoring relationship.
• Has worked closely with two different students while actively involved in the program.
 
YoungLife
Volunteer
Fall 2024 – Present
• Completed training to become a YoungLife mentor through St. Moses Church in Baltimore.
• Attends weekly mentor breakfasts with mentee.  Picks student up at his house each week and takes him home after breakfast in time for him to get to school.
• Breakfasts consisted of ~30 minutes of basketball and conversation with mentee and other mentors/mentees, then ~30 minutes of devotional consisting of a game, a story/lesson, and then a series of questions that mentors/mentees ask each other.
• Has organized activities with mentee and other mentors/mentees outside of the normal weekly breakfast.

Classroom Champion
2026 - Present
Captain of Mentor Pair
• Classroom Champion is an organization that pairs college, professional, and Olympic athletes with K-8 classrooms at public schools to share their mindset and life experience with students, helping them grow emotionally, socially, and academically.  Paired at Johns Hopkins with a member of the Blue Jay track team.
• Responsible for filming five (5) SEL-themed lesson videos (2-3 minutes each) during the semester and submitting each video for use at their assigned school.
• Will participate in live video chats (via Zoom) ("LIVE Chats") with his paired classrooms during both the Fall and Spring live chat seasons throughout the semester.  Assigned a classroom in Baltimore for the upcoming academic year, which may allow for the opportunity to do these in person.
 
Since its inception, Johns Hopkins has placed six players on the Allstate AFCA Good Works Team:  Jim Sanders (2005), Brian Nickel (2006), Tim Miller (2009), Alan Gorny (2022), Spencer Uggla (2023), Thomas Grehan (2024) and Charlie Pearson (2025).
 
With the selection of Gorny, Uggla, Grehan and Pearson over the last four seasons, Johns Hopkins is one of just four college football programs nationwide that had a player named to the team in 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025.
 
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