J.J. Weaver named to Allstate AFCA Good Works Team Watch List
The American Football Coaches Association announced a record-breaking 178 nominees for the Allstate Good Works Team, and Kentucky senior linebacker J.J. Weaver was one of those names.
The Allstate AFCA Good Works Team recognizes student-athletes across the country who use their platforms to serve the community around them. These athletes work to serve people in need and promote causes such as mental health awareness, youth mentorship, hunger relief, and domestic abuse prevention, among countless others.
To be considered for the Allstate AFCA Good Works team, an athlete must also have a strong academic standing along with their involvement in charitable efforts.
Weaver’s Story
Weaver, a Louisville native and Moore Traditional High School alum, has shined on the field at Kentucky. He has been a leader for the ‘Cats, holding a two-year captaincy and totaling 45 tackles while ranking second on the team in TFLs with 8.5 and sacks with 7.0 just last year.
The linebacker gives 100% effort on the field but has also found purpose in helping others through tough times. Weaver has become a remarkable advocate for mental health awareness, taking his own trauma and using it for good.
In the span of just over a year from 2020-2021, Weaver lost his father, suffered a season-ending knee injury, and lost his high school football coach.
The mix of emotions Weaver must’ve felt during these times could not be summed up in words. These events would be traumatic for anyone to experience in their lifetime, let alone a college-aged kid. But, with encouragement and support from head coach Mark Stoops and then-athletic trainer Gabe Amponash, Weaver decided to turn to counseling.
This surely changed the trajectory of his story. Weaver’s experience in counseling inspired him to become an advocate to help others through whatever their struggles may be.
In 2023, Weaver created “The Perfect Fit Support Group,” a peer-led grief counseling group on UK’s campus for student-athletes.
The program caught the attention of Women in Philanthropy, who extended a $40,000 grant to The Perfect Fit Support Group. Now, it will be available to all students at the beginning of the fall semester.
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Along with the creation of his support group, Weaver attended the “Supporting Children and Teens Through Loss” event at the Kentucky Center for Grieving Children and Families. There, he spoke about going through and overcoming grief, interacting with and supporting the children and peers there. He also attended the Annual Symposium on Children’s Grief in June, hosted in Denver, Colorado by the National Alliance for Children’s Grief.
He’s been a part of numerous other charitable events as well. Just yesterday, Weaver hosted his second bike drive through “The Perfect Fit.”
His work in communities across Kentucky has helped countless people and is one of the biggest reasons he’s been selected to the Watch List.
The AFCA Allstate Good Works Team will be announced in September, made up of 23 award recipients from the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), NCAA Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), Divisions II, III, NAIA, and one honorary head coach.
The Southeastern Conference sits in first place for the most award recipients to the Allstate AFCA Good Works Team at 84 since it started in 1992. Georgia leads the conference with 23 selections, followed by Kentucky at 17.
Whether or not Weaver is selected to the team, he is doing tremendous work for the Kentucky community and changing the lives of those around him.
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