Three Wildcats tabbed to Comeback Player of the Year Watch List

A trio of Wildcats are going on a Revenge Tour this season.

On Tuesday, the College Sports Communicators (formerly the College Sports Information Directors of America [CoSIDA]) announced the watch list for the 2023 Comeback Player of the Year Award. Among the candidates up for the honor are Kentucky senior quarterback Devin Leary, senior running back Ramon Jefferson, and senior defensive back Jalen Geiger.

The Comeback Player of the Year Award has been a fixture in college football since 2018. It intends to recognize the student-athletes from all divisions of college football that overcame injury, illness, or other unfortunate circumstances. Kentucky has already seen two Wildcats win the award in past years: Kenneth Horsey in 2020 and JJ Weaver in 2021.

Three Wildcats, @jalengeiger, @DevinLeary1 and @Jefferson1Ramon, are on the @ComebackPlayrFB Watch List.

📰🔗https://t.co/2gkc6gmk38 pic.twitter.com/YD9bNKBpsM

— Kentucky Football (@UKFootball) August 22, 2023

All three of Leary, Jefferson, and Geiger are fully healthy looking ahead to the start of the 2023 season, but all three had to battle back from serious injuries to reach this point.

Starting with Leary, the former NC State starter suffered a tear in his right pectoralis major during the middle of the 2022 season with the Wolfpack. He was impressive during the six games he appeared in before the injury, completing 118-of-193 passes for 1,265 yards and 11 touchdowns. NC State was 5-1 during that stretch before Leary went down for the rest of the season. Now healthy, he’s garnering plenty of preseason praise as UK’s signal-caller this season.

As for Jefferson, he joined Kentucky ahead of the 2022 season after transferring from Sam Houston State where he gained 1,907 yards on 299 carries in 22 games across two seasons. He was named an FCS All-American during that time. Unfortunately, his debut with the Wildcats didn’t last long. He suffered a season-ending ACL injury during the opening series of the season opener against Miami (OH). Looking ahead to 2023, Jefferson figures to play a substantial role in Kentucky’s backfield rotation.

Finally, Geiger is coming back from a torn patellar tendon in his left knee, which he suffered during the win over Florida in Week 2 of the 2022 season and ultimately required him to undergo surgery. Now back with the team, he expects to fill out an important spot in the Wildcats’ secondary as one of the two starting safeties. Geiger was in for a breakout season as a junior — he’ll have the chance to make it happen as a senior.

The three winners for Comeback Player of the Year will be announced at the end of the season during the Fiesta Bowl.