GREEN BAY – Packers safety Xavier McKinney and running back Josh Jacobs have been selected as the 2024 Tom Mulhern Stand-Up Guy Award recipients, as voted on by the Green Bay chapter of the Professional Football Writers of America.
The annual award is presented to the Packers players who have best helped reporters covering the team do their jobs effectively.
McKinney and Jacobs both signed with Green Bay as unrestricted free agents in March after serving as team captains for the New York Giants and Las Vegas Raiders, respectively.
Prior to the NFL, McKinney and Jacobs were teammates at the University of Alabama, where former head coach Nick Saban required incoming freshmen to take interpersonal communication classes to help address the media.
"One thing people don't know is Saban made every freshman take speech," said Jacobs, who also won the PFWA media award during his time in Las Vegas. "He taught us wins or losses, you still gotta be a pro and you gotta handle things a certain type of way. I think that's the thing that probably just stuck with me the longest. Obviously, y'all got a job to do, too. I try to make it easy for everybody."
This season, Jacobs became the first Green Bay running back to rush for more than 1,300 yards in a season in 21 years while McKinney led the Packers with eight interceptions.
It's the first time since the Green Bay media award's inception in 2014 that two incoming free agents have been honored during their first season with the Packers.
"You just gotta know how to be a pro," McKinney said. "You're not going to win every game. You're not gonna be happy all the time. The times that you're down and the times you're up, whatever the case may be, you still gotta be able to talk to you guys and have interactions. I think that's what it's about."
Other current Packers to have previously won the award include receiver Christian Watson and defensive lineman Kenny Clark, who was previously honored in 2018 and 2022.
The Stand-Up Guy Award is named after the late Tom Mulhern, a former Packers and Wisconsin Badgers beat writer for the Wisconsin State Journal and Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel who passed away at age 56 in October 2014.
Tom Mulhern Stand-Up Guy recipients
2024: S Xavier McKinney, RB Josh Jacobs
2023: RB Aaron Jones, WR Christian Watson
2022: DL Kenny Clark (2), CB Rasul Douglas
2021: WR Davante Adams (3)
2020: WR Davante Adams (2), QB Aaron Rodgers
2019: CB Tramon Williams (2), T Bryan Bulaga, K Mason Crosby
2018: DL Kenny Clark
2017: WR Davante Adams, T David Bakhtiari
2016: DB Micah Hyde, G T.J. Lang
2015: No award given
2014: WR Jordy Nelson, CB Tramon Williams
