Five Wildcats earn Freshman All-America honors

The postseason accolades keep rolling in for Kentucky Football.

Today, five of the youngest Wildcats from the 2022 season earned national recognition for excelling in their true freshman seasons. We’ll start with the two that earned Freshman All-American honors here in our own building. On3 named Barion Brown and Deone Walker to its 22-man Freshman All-America Team.

Here’s what our colleague Charles Power said about each Kentucky rookie:

BARION BROWN – KENTUCKY

Barion Brown looked like one of the more electric pass-catchers in the SEC as a true freshman at saw the 6-foot-1, 166-pounder make steady progress as a receiver as he continued to assimilate to the Kentucky offense. Brown finished the season as the Wildcats’ leading receiver, catching 45 passes for 604 yards and four touchdowns.

The Nashville Pearl Cohn product was a track star in high school and transfers that speed over to the football field with ease. His big-play ability and continued improvement in positional skills are highly encouraging and provide a building block for the Kentucky offense moving forward. Brown ranked as the No. 88 overall prospect in the 2022 On3 Consensus as a recruit.

DEONE WALKER – KENTUCY

Deone Walker was among a handful of true freshmen to make an impact for Kentucky. The 6-foot-6, 330-pounder started the year off strong, flashing early in the season against Florida and later turned in a big showing in the season finale against Louisville. Walker finished the season with 39 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss, a sack and two forced fumbles, along with 20 quarterback hurries, per PFF. Walker’s combination of girth, length and initial quickness make for a tough proposition for interior offensive linemen.

The Detroit native was rated as a four-star prospect and ranked as the No. 264 overall prospect in the 2022 On3 Consensus.

Then over at College Football News, Brown and Walker again made the cut on CFN’s All-America rosters. Brown is a Third Team selection; Walker is a First Team All-Freshman defensive lineman.

They were joined by Dane Key, Jordan Lovett, and Jordan Dingle on the Freshman All-American Honorable Mention List.