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Today on KSR: Kentucky football wins more national awards

by:Jack Pilgrim•12/13/19
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Good morning and happy Friday, Big Blue Nation! How is everyone doing? Christmas shopping going well? Me neither. Loving the crowds and traffic? Nope? Can’t say I disagree.

Luckily for you, KSR is here to get you through your day and into the weekend.

What’s the latest in the wide world of UK Athletics?

Max Duffy wins Ray Guy Award, earns All-America honors

Last night, the Kentucky football program was plastered all across the Home Depot College Football Awards on ESPN in Atlanta.

The headliner? UK star punter Max Duffy, who took home the 2019 Ray Guy Award given annually to the nation’s top punter.

Here was the big moment:

Duffy recently earned first-team All-SEC honors by the AP, first-team All-America by the FWAA and was a second-team choice by the league coaches.

He was twice been named the Ray Guy Award Player of the Week during the regular season and earned Southeastern Conference Special Teams Player of the Week on Oct. 28 after the Missouri victory. He was on the Ray’s 8 weekly honor roll three times and was also a First-Team Midseason All-America choice by ESPN and The Sporting News and a Second-Team Midseason All-America selection by the Associated Press.

Last night, Duffy was also named a first-team Walter Camp All-American, giving UK its second consecutive and 11th overall to earn those honors.

Duffy, a native of Perth, Australia, is UK’s career punt leader with a 46.5-yard average, and with his help, Kentucky leads the nation in net punting with a 45.13-yard net average. Duffy leads the nation in punting at 48.6 yards per punt.

The 2019 Walter Camp All-America team will be honored at the organization’s 53rd annual national awards banquet, presented by David McDermott Lexus of New Haven, on Saturday, January 18, 2020 at the Yale University Commons in New Haven, CT.

Landon Young represents Kentucky well at the College Football Awards

While Duffy was the star from an award’s perspective, Kentucky offensive lineman Landon Young stole the show for how well he represented the University of Kentucky when being honored as the Captain of the Allstate American Football Coaches Association Good Works Team.

During the broadcast, ESPN’s Maria Taylor interviewed the Kentucky redshirt junior about his philanthropic efforts and all the off-field work he has done during his time in Lexington.

Take a look:

The Allstate AFCA Good Works Team has highlighted inspiring stories of selflessness demonstrated by college football players throughout the nation for 28 years now. The 2019 Good Works Team consisted of a final roster of 22 award recipients and one honorary head coach – 11 players from the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision and 11 players – that were selected from this year’s 169 nominees.

As for Young specifically, here are just a few of his service projects, courtesy of UK Athletics:

  • Has visited a local nursing home several times, including a pre-Super Bowl party to give joy to the residents
  • Guest speaker at local churches and elementary schools on seven different occasions, talking about life lessons, fighting through adversities, faith and football
  • Volunteered at Habitat for Humanity
  • Volunteered at Kentucky Children’s Hospital to visit patients and lift their spirits
  • Helped decorate Lexington’s Hope Center – a recovery program for women, with Christmas decorations
  • Volunteered with Lexington Christian Church to do yard work for members not physically able to take care of their yard
  • As an animal science major, has volunteered his time for eight straight years at a veterinary clinic in Cynthiana, Kentucky
  • Participated in a one-week service trip to the Ethiopia in May of 2019 where he helped delivered  essential nutrition, supplies, hope and love to families living in Korah, a slum made up of all the trash accumulated in Addis Ababa … Visited an orphanage with approximately 80 children and took teenagers from Korah to play arcade games and see the Avengers movie. The teens had never been out of their village, been in a movie theatre or even seen a movie … Paired with a feeding program that supplies meals to government schools in Cherkos, a poorer region in Addis Ababa. The program began as a result of kids fainting and lack of focus in the classroom due to malnutrition at home, often missing breakfast in the morning and at night only leaving them with one meal per day … Helped served meals to the kids during lunch and played in the schoolyard during recess.

Young will join his fellow Allstate AFCA Good Works Team members in New Orleans ahead of the 2020 Allstate® Sugar Bowl® and participate in a special volunteer project to refurbish Einstein Charter School. Young and the team will also be honored on the field at halftime during the game on Jan. 1, 2020.

Josh Paschal named to 2019 Uplifting Athletes Rare Disease Champion Team

The list doesn’t stop at Max Duffy and Landon Young.

Kentucky outside linebacker Josh Paschal was named one of five members to the inaugural 2019 Uplifting Athletes Rare Disease Champion Team, Uplifting Athlete announced on Thursday.

Paschal was joined by Kent State wide receiver Antwan Dixon, Davidson linebacker George Hatalowich, Syracuse offensive lineman Sam Heckel and Penn student assistant Anthony Lotti.

For 12 years, Uplifting Athletes has recognized a Rare Disease Champion. Starting in 2019, the focus of the Rare Disease Champion Award shifts from highlighting an individual leader in college football to a team concept that provides an opportunity to recognize leaders in college football that have made a positive and lasting impact on the Rare Disease Community.

The Prince George’s County, Maryland native has made an inspiring return to the football field after overcoming a malignant melanoma that appeared on the bottom of his foot just before training camp was to open in the summer of 2018. He underwent three surgeries and monthly immunotherapy treatments for more than a year before returning to action.

John Calipari will speak to the media this afternoon

What do we need to know about Josh Pastner and the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets? John Calipari will be around to answer that question and more when he talks to the media this afternoon.

Select men’s basketball players will talk starting at 1:30 p.m. before Coach Cal takes the podium at 1:45 p.m., followed by women’s head coach Matthew Mitchell at 2 p.m. A live stream of both Calipari and Mitchell will be available here, though we’ll have a separate individual post for the stream and coverage to follow.

Kentucky volleyball plays in the Sweet 16

Kentucky volleyball will look to advance to the Elite Eight this evening, as the No. 9 Wildcats are set to take on No. 8 Washington in the Waco Regional.

After pulling off back-to-back sweeps to open the NCAA Tournament, UK will face off against the Huskies, who sit at 26-6 on the year and also managed consecutive sweeps to open postseason play.

The match will take place at 2:30 p.m. this afternoon, with the winner set to take on either No. 1 Baylor or No. 16 Purdue, who will play at noon. The Elite Eight matchup will take place at 4 p.m. on Saturday, with the winner advancing to the Final Four.

Here was the entire pregame press conference from yesterday:

KSR in an hour

Ryan Lemond and Drew Franklin will be live on Kentucky Sports Radio this morning at the official Richmond Road Vet Re-Grand Opening Celebration.

Stop by between 10 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. for a chance to win Kentucky basketball tickets for the Georgia Tech game, sponsored by Kentucky Branded.

Go Cats.

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