Barion Brown, Deone Walker Named Freshman All-Americans by PFF

A couple of Kentucky Wildcats were among the best freshman in all of college football in 2022. Deone Walker and Barion Brown were selected to Pro Football Focus’ Freshman All-American Team.

Deone Walker was a monster during his first season in Lexington. The 6-foot-6, 350-pound defensive lineman from Detroit played better than a former four-star prospect this fall. He was Kentucky’s most productive defensive lineman, leading the unit in every major statistical category with 39 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss and one sack. He also had a pair of pass break-ups, five quarterback hurries and a forced fumble. Walker was named SEC Co-Defensive Lineman of the Week following his performance against Louisville.

Kentucky’s other Freshman All-American was a dynamic playmaker on offense and special teams. He returned a kickoff for a touchdown against Youngstown State, the first by a Wildcat since Derrick Locke in 2009. He almost took two more to the house against Ole Miss, causing most of the Wildcats’ other opponents to kick away from the freshman for the rest of the 2022 season.

An explosive pass-catcher, the former Top 100 wide receiver started and caught a pass in every game this fall. He finished the regular season with 45 receptions for 604 yards, UK freshman records, and four touchdowns. Brown’s best performance came against the Wildcats’ most talented opponent. He caught a career-high 10 passes for 145 yards and a touchdown against top-ranked Georgia.

Many Kentucky fans feared other teams would try to pry the talented freshmen away from the Wildcats this offseason through the transfer portal. Following the Louisville game each young star reiterated they are “BBN for life.”

“I don’t know who started that rumor, but I’m BBN for life. So can y’all stop the rumors, please?” Brown later added, “I don’t know where the rumors came from.”

[Pro Football Focus Freshman All-American Team]