Four Kentucky Wildcats Selected to Music City Bowl 25th Anniversary Team

The TransPerfect Music City Bowl is celebrating it 25th anniversary by hosting its most frequent visitor, the University of Kentucky. On Saturday the Wildcats will play in the Nashville bowl game for a sixth time, this year facing off against Iowa at noon EST on ABC.

First played in 1998, the Music City Bowl is commemorating its history by celebrating the game’s best and brightest. Four Kentucky Wildcats were selected to the 25th anniversary team: Rafael Little (punt returner), Josh Allen (linebacker), Wesley Woodyard (linebacker) and Rich Brooks (head coach).

Rich Brooks coached the Wildcats in three Music City Bowls in four years, defeating Clemson in 2006 and Florida State in 2007. Rafael Little had 152 rushing yards and caught eight passes for 50 yards and a touchdown in the victory over Florida State. Wesley Woodyard combined for 27 tackles in the two Kentucky wins and forced a fumble in 2006. Josh Allen tallied seven tackles in Kentucky’s loss to Northwestern in 2017.

The Wildcats weren’t the only players with local ties to be honored by the Music City Bowl. Louisville Trinity product Rondale Moore made the cut as well as Louisville’s Lamar Jackson. The Cardinals’ 2015 win over Texas A&M in Nashville served as a springboard to Jackson’s 2016 Heisman campaign that ended with him fumbling the ball to Kentucky and losing the Governor’s Cup as a 27.5-point favorite.

Music City Bowl 25th Anniversary Team

Head Coach: Rich Brooks – Kentucky ’06, ’07, ‘09

Offense

Quarterback: Lamar Jackson – Louisville, ‘15

Running Backs: Cadillac Williams – Auburn ’03, C.J. Spiller – Clemson ’09

Wide Receivers: Rondale Moore – Purdue ’18, Jordan Matthews – Vanderbilt ’12, Cedric Tillman – Tennessee ’21

Tight Ends: Darren Waller – Georgia Tech ’13, Luke Stocker – Tennessee ’10

Offensive Linemen: Joe Thomas – Wisconsin ’03, Laremy Tunsil – Ole Miss ’13, Quenton Nelson – Notre Dame ’14

Defense

Linebackers: David Pollack – Georgia ’01, Josh Allen – Kentucky ’17, Keith Bulluck – Syracuse ’99, Wesley Woodyard –Kentucky ’06, ’07

Defensive Linemen: Myles Garrett – Texas A&M ’15, Fletcher Cox – Mississippi State ’11, Chris Long – Virginia ‘05

Defensive Backs: Darius Slay – Mississippi State ’11, Jamal Adams – LSU ’14, Cam Sutton – Tennessee ’16, Roman Harper – Alabama ‘04

Special Teams

Kicker: Graham Gano – Florida State ’07

Punter: Paxton Brooks – Tennessee ’21

Kick Returner: Leonard Fournette – LSU ’14

Punt Returner: Rafael Little – Kentucky ’06, ’07