Kentucky Wildcats aplenty in Phil Steele Preseason All-SEC Teams

Nine Kentucky Wildcats have been tabbed preseason All-SEC picks in Phil Steele’s College Football Preview Magazine.

Senior punter Max Duffy, senior center Drake Jackson, and junior right tackle Darian Kinnard were First-Team All-SEC.

Senior nose tackle Quinton Bohanna, senior outside linebacker Jamar “Boogie” Watson, and senior left tackle Landon Young earned Second-Team honors.

Senior wide receiver Josh Ali, sophomore defensive back Kelvin Joseph, and junior defensive end Joshua Paschal were Fourth-Team picks.

Duffy, who led the nation in net punting with a 44.55-yard net average last season, as well as punting at 48.10 yards per punt, won the Ray Guy Award as the nation’s top punter and was named a First-Team All-American by the AP, Sporting News, ESPN, FWAA, Walter Camp, AFCA Coaches’, The Athletic, USA Today, Phil Steele and Athlon Sports. He is UK’s career punt leader with a 46.3-yard average.

Jackson, who started at center in all 13 games last season, has a team-high 33 consecutive starts. He’s also a Rimington Trophy watch list member.

Kinnard, who started in all 13 games at right tackle last season, finished with 32 knockdowns and just one penalty in 706 snaps.

Bohanna, who enters the 2020 season with 19 straight starts at nose guard, racked up 18 tackles, three tackles for loss and one sack last year.

Young, who started all 13 games at left tackle last year, totaled 64 knockdown plays and missed only one assignment in 754 plays.

Watson, who is also a Chuck Bednarik Award nominee, racked up 36 tackles, a team-high 11.5 tackles for loss, and seven quarterback hurries in 2019. He’s the SEC’s leading sack returner after totaling 6.5 in 2019.

Ali, who started all 13 games last season, caught just 23 passes for 233 yards and three scores. But he saved his best for last, catching four passes for 52 yards and the game-winning score vs. Virginia Tech in the Belk Bowl.

Paschal, who missed most of the 2018 season to battle melanoma, racked up 34 tackles, 9.5 tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks, two forced fumbles, and one blocked kick last season.

Joseph, a redshirt sophomore transfer from LSU who sat out last season due to NCAA transfer rules, played in 11 games as a true freshman in 2018 and recorded 12 tackles and pass breakup. 247 Sports Composite had Joseph ranked 42nd overall in the Class of 2018.

Steele giving this much love to the Wildcats is the latest reminder of how special the 2020 Wildcats can be if there is a season. Let’s hope by some miracle there is one.