The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

MAVIN Saunders, the highly acclaimed redshirt junior tight end from the Florida State Seminoles, was awarded on Monday night as he was named to Allstate AFCA Good Works Team.

Saunders, a native of Bimini who was recruited by the Frank Rutherford Foundation in Houston, Texas, to play basketball, but made the transition to football, was named the Riley Elementary Outstanding Adult Volunteer of the Year for his work with the local Tallahassee school.

He received his honour, along with 10 other FBS players during halftime of the 2018 Sugar Bowl game in the Superdome in New Orleans where the Alabama Crimson Tide routed the Clemson Tigers 24-6 to advance to the College Football Playoff National Championships.

"It's a great honour," said Saunders on Florida State's website. "I was moved by it from the beginning, so I decided to keep coming back and showing these guys the commitment."

Referring to one of the youngsters that he's been mentoring, Saunders said at the beginning, he was so shy, but he's seen a drastic improvement as he worked with him. He said it was important for him to work with the youngsters so that they can become better people in life.

Saunders, who will be transferring to play for the Kansas Jayhawks in the fall, began volunteering his services with Riley Elementary for class credit, but has now worked with the students for nearly two years, fitting in time around his football and school requirements.

In addition to Saunders' work with Riley Elementary, he was named to the ACC Academic Honour Roll for a second time this year. This is the second consecutive year that a Seminole has been named to the Allstate AFCA Good Works Team. Last year, centre Alec Eberle earned the honour for his work with Uplifting Athletes and head coach Jimbo Fisher's Kidz1stFund.

Saunders is the sixth Seminole to earn the distinction, joining Corey Fuller (1994), Wayne Messum (1995), Sam Cowart (1996), Christian Ponder (2010) and Eberle (2016).

The Allstate AFCA Good Works Team recognises incredible stories of selflessness and community service and honours their dedication to volunteerism and enriching the lives of others.

In addition to going to New Orleans, Allstate will honour the Good Works Team players by creating special volunteer events in select markets throughout the season in conjunction with its All Hands In programme, which encourages the college football community to come together and do good.

Saunders was rated a four-star prospect in the 2014 class by 247Sports, ESPN and Scout, and a three-star recruit by Rival. He was also ranked the No. 3 tight end in the country and No. 23 player in Texas (No. 187 player overall) by 247Sports. Additionally, he was rated the No. 7 tight end and No. 45 player in Texas by ESPN and ranked the No. 14 tight end and No. 32 player in Texas by Rival. He was Scout's No. 9 tight end prospect and PrepStar Magazine All-Midlands Region after he went to the United States from Bimini.

He first played football his junior season of high school and helped lead Kincaid to an 11-0 record and the Southwest Preparatory Conference title by totaling 35 receptions for 468 yards and eight touchdown.

He had 40 catches for 590 yards and six touchdowns as a junior to lead the Falcons to an 8-3 mark and the SPC large-school title game and also starred in basketball for Kincaid where he held averages of 16.5 points and 8.6 rebounds following his junior season.

Saunders received college basketball offers from Connecticut and Oklahoma, among others, but he chose Florida State over football offers from Arkansas, Houston and Michigan State.

Saunders, who will turn 23 on February 4, is majoring in criminology when he play his final collegiate season with the Kansas Jayhawks, who finished just 1-11 last season and 0-9 in the Big 12.