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Josh Allen has won the Lott IMPACT Trophy, adding to his already impressive list of postseason awards.
This trophy is presented to the college football defensive IMPACT player of the year. IMPACT is an acronym for: Integrity, Maturity, Performance, Academics, Community, and Tenacity. He received the award at the Lott IMPACT Trophy Banquet on Sunday night.
Senior LB @JoshAllen41_ has been named the winner of the Lott IMPACT Trophy @TheLottTrophy which is presented to the college football defensive IMPACT player of the year! pic.twitter.com/S0LG2U9rQJ
— Kentucky Football (@UKFootball) December 10, 2018
I’m not sure there’s a better way to describe Allen, who’s been a force on and off the field.
“I can’t say enough good things about Josh. He is a genuinely good guy. He cares for his teammates and I’ve seen him grow since he came to school,” said Jen Smith, Kentucky beat reporter for Lexington Herald-Leader. She added that Allen has donated time for Special Olympics and a children’s cancer research program.
The other finalists for the award were Washington linebacker Ben Burr-Kirven, Duke linebacker Ben Humphreys, and Clemson defensive lineman Christian Wilkins.
Allen was a three-time Lott IMPACT Trophy Player of the Week, the first player to win Player of the Week three times since Notre Dame’s Manti Te’o in 2012, and four-time SEC Defensive Player of the Week this season. In addition, he recently won the Chuck Bednarik and Bronko Nagurski Awards.
The future first-round NFL Draft pick was a unanimous midseason All-American and is a lock to be a unanimous First-Team All-American. On the season, Allen accumulated 18.5 tackles for losses (11th in country), 14 sacks (2nd in country), 5 forced fumbles (leads nation), 2 fumble recoveries, 6 quarterback hurries and 84 total tackles (most on the team).
With 28.5 career sacks and 14 sacks in 2018, he holds UK’s career and single-season records. His 11 career forced fumbles tie former Wildcat and current Chicago Bear linebacker Danny Trevathan for UK’s career mark.
Former winners of this award include J.J. Watt (2010), Luke Kuechly (2011), Manti Te’o (2012), and Jabrill Peppers (2016).
The university will receive $25,000 for the school’s general scholarship fund with each of the other three finalists getting $5,000 for their school.