Former Pella Christian standout and Central College football player Cory Nikkel is in New Orleans, Louisiana, to attend tomorrow night’s Allstate Sugar Bowl.  Earlier this year, the tight end was among 22 players from across the country that were named to the prestigious Allstate American Football Coaches Association “Good Works Team” – which recognizes student-athletes for their dedication through improving the lives of others through community service.  

Half of the players selected represent Division I FBS colleges.  Nikkel was named to the other half, which represents Divisions II and III, the NAIA, and the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision (FCS).  He and the 21 other honorees will participate in a community service project, and be introduced at halftime of the Sugar Bowl game.  

Cory Nikkel is an English and secondary education double-major at Central College, and carries a 3.77 grade point average.  The 6-foot-2, 220-pound tight end has traveled on numerous mission trips, featuring stops in San Antonio, Texas; Mexico; Peru; and Australia; and is active in Central’s service-learning and Campus Ministries programs.  He is being joined on the trip by his father, former Pella Christian Athletic Director Verlan Nikkel.