Pair of Wildcats named to Preseason Award Watch Lists

The lists keep coming for some of the Wildcats heading into the season. On Thursday, it was announced that a pair of Wildcats earned some major preseason honors. Plenty of rankings and lists have been coming out lately, but a couple of Wildcats are on watch for some of the most prestigious awards in college football.

Big defensive lineman Deone Walker has been named to the Lombardi Award preseason watch list. The award recognizes the best lineman in the nation at the conclusion of the season in honor of legendary coach Vince Lombardi. Then, quarterback Brock Vandagriff was named to the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award preseason watch list, which recognizes the nations top upperclassmen set to graduate.

Kentucky will be getting their first look at Brock Vandagriff this season. A transfer coming from Georgia, Vandagriff didn't see much action with the Bulldogs behind star quarterback Carson Beck. Fans are not very familiar with his game, but things are looking optimistic heading into the season. Vandagriff played in 13 games in his career at Georgia. In that time, he completed 12 of 21 passes, rushing for 46 yards on 6 carries, along with 2 touchdowns. He was part of Georgia's back-to-back National Championship teams in 2021 and 2022. As for Walker, fans are very familiar with him at this point. Heading into this season, he is seen as an All-American candidate. Last season, he earned first-team All-SEC honors, leading Kentucky in tackles for loss (12.5), quarterback sacks (7.5) as well as hurries with 8.

The lists and rankings just keep coming as the season inches closer.