UCLA Football: Kyle Philips Named to Paul Hornung Award Watch List
The Paul Hornung Award is presented annually to the most versatile player in college football.
UCLA wide receiver Kyle Philips has been named to the 2021 Paul Hornung Award watch list. This is the first time Philips has been named to a preseason watch list Philips is one of 57 players named to this watch list.
Philips will look to become the second UCLA player to be a finalist for the Paul Horning Award. Former Bruin and current Jacksonville Jaguar Myles Jack is the only Bruin to be selected as a finalist for the honor in 2013 when Odell Beckham Jr. won the award.
The Paul Hornung Award, now in its twelfth season, is given annually to the most versatile player in major college football by the Louisville Sports Commission in the memory of the late football legend and football legend and Louisville native Paul Hornung. The winner and his family will be honored at the annual Paul Hornung Award dinner, to be held at the Galt House Hotel in downtown Louisville in March 2022.
The Paul Hornung Award has an impressive legacy. Rondale Moore, the 2018 Paul Hornung Award winner, was named a consensus All-American and Big Ten Receiver of the Year as a true freshman. Two of the five 2018 finalists currently are on NFL rosters, and the other three finalists are on the 2018 Watch List. Six of the eight Hornung Award winners prior to Moore were first round draft picks and currently are playing in the NFL.
Hornung, who passed away at age 84 on Nov. 13, 2020, played every position in the offensive backfield during his career with the Irish in the 1950s and also played defensive safety, punted, placekicked and returned kickoffs. He was named All-America at quarterback as a senior and won the Heisman Trophy in 1956, then was the first player selected in the NFL draft, going to Green Bay.
Hornung was the NFL MVP for the Packers in 1961. He set a single-season NFL scoring record that stood 46 years as a triple-threat halfback and placekicker. He is a member of the College and Pro Football Halls of Fame, and Vince Lombardi once called him, “The most versatile man ever to play the game.”
College football fans nationwide will have the opportunity to vote for their favorite player during the regular season and again during the bowl season. Fan voting will open in late September and factor into the selection of the finalists and winner.
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