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UCLA cornerback and kick returner Darnay Holmes has been named to the 2019 Paul Hornung Award watch list. It is the second year in a row that Holmes has been named to the Paul Hornung Award watch list. Holmes is one of 44 players named to 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 tenth 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 2020. This will be The Paul Hornung Award’s fourth year as an associate member of the National College Football Awards Association.
The Paul Hornung Award has an impressive legacy. Rondale Moore, the 2018 Paul Hornung Award winner, was named a consensus All-American and Big Ten Receiver of the Year as a true freshman. Two of the five 2018 finalists currently are on NFL rosters, and the other three finalists are on the 2018 Watch List. Six of the eight Hornung Award winners prior to Moore were first round draft picks and currently are playing in the NFL.
“This award, which was created in my name, has earned a special place in college football,” 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 titletown Green Bay Packers of the early 1960s. “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!!