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UCLA Bruins cornerback Darnay Holmes has been named to the 2018 Paul Hornung Award watch list this morning. Holmes is one of 43 college football players to be selected for this watch list.
Holmes will look to become the second UCLA player to be a finalist for the Paul Horning Award. Former Bruin and current Jacksonville Jaguar Myles Jack is the only Bruin to be selected as a finalist for the honor in 2013 when Odell Beckham Jr. won the award.
The Paul Hornung Award, now in its ninth season, is given annually to the most versatile player in major college football by the Louisville Sports Commission and football legend and Louisville native Paul Hornung. The winner and his family will be honored at the annual Paul Hornung Award dinner presented by Jewish Hospital Sports Medicine, to be held at the Galt House Hotel in downtown Louisville in March 2019. This will be The Paul Hornung Award’s third year as an associate member of the National College Football Awards Association.
The Paul Hornung Award has an impressive legacy. Saquon Barkley, the 2017 Paul Hornung Award winner, was the second pick in the 2018 NFL Draft; the three 2017 finalists also are currently on NFL rosters. The six most-recent winners, including Barkley, were NFL first round draft picks in their respective years.
“Due to the leadership and hard work of the Louisville Sports Commission, the award created in my name has come a long way in a short time,” said Paul Hornung, the 1956 Heisman Trophy winner who played every position in the offensive backfield during his Notre Dame career and was a triple threat halfback and placekicker for the title town Green Bay Packers of the early 1960s. “We’ve selected outstanding college players, many who have gone on to do extremely well in the NFL. I’m pleased that we are able to acknowledge outstanding players who contribute any way possible to help their teams win, the same way I did.”
Hornung was the NFL MVP for the Packers in 1961. He set a single-season NFL scoring record that stood 46 years. He is a member of the College and Pro Football Halls of Fame, and Vince Lombardi once called him, “The most versatile man ever to play the game.”
College football fans nationwide will have the opportunity to vote for their favorite player during the regular season and again during the bowl season. Fan voting will open in late September and factor into the selection of the finalists and winner.
Go Bruins!!