Dec. 13, 2002
Pakulak Named National Special Teams Player of the Year: Kentucky punter Glenn Pakulak has been named the National Special Teams Player of the Year, the Mosi Tatupu Award.
The Mosi Tatupu Award is given by the Hula Bowl Maui and the Maui Quarterback Club. Pakulak will receive the award at the Maui Quarterback Club annual dinner in January and will be recognized at halftime of Hula Bowl Maui on Feb. 1, 2003. Pakulak will be playing in Hula Bowl Maui.
“It’s a great honor to be recognized as the special teams player of the year,” Pakulak said. “Field position is so huge and to help the team turn around from 2-9 (in 2001) to 7-5 this year was great. Being a part of that (turnaround) is very special.
“There are a lot of people to thank. I thank the people at the Hula Bowl and the Maui Quarterback Club, along with the voting committee for the award. I thank Coach Nelson (special teams coach Mark Nelson) for his hard work. I also want to thank the whole punt team. (Long snapper) Coleman Barnes did a great job getting the ball to me. Thanks to the blockers, we never had a punt blocked. Tommy Cook, Mike Williams, and everybody (on the punt team) did a great job of covering the punts.”
Pakulak is the top punter in Kentucky history. He broke the single-season school record with a 45.6-yard average. He leads the Southeastern Conference and is third in the nation in punting average. He also broke the UK career record with a 44.4-yard average.
Pakulak demonstrated remarkable accuracy during the season. Almost half of his punts, 31 of 66, landed inside the 20-yard line without going into the end zone. A total of 14 punts landed inside the 10-yard line without going into the end zone and he had just nine touchbacks during the season.
As a team, Kentucky set a school season record with a 40.1-yard net punting average. UK’s net average leads the SEC and ranks third nationally. Kentucky also leads the Southeastern Conference in field position differential. UK had a +12-yard differential in the 2002 season. UK’s average starting field position was the 37-yard line while the opponents’ average starting field position was the 25-yard line.
Pakulak already has been named first-team All-America by CBSSportsLine.com and fourth-team All-America by The Sporting News. He is a consensus first-team All-SEC choice. He was a finalist for the Ray Guy Award, which goes to the nation’s top punter.
Abney Named to Camp All-America Team: Kentucky junior Derek Abney has been named to the Walter Camp All-America team as a kick returner.
Abney returned six kicks for touchdowns this season and broke or tied four NCAA records, six Southeastern Conference records and 10 school records for kick returns. He averaged 15.1 yards per punt return, including four touchdowns (at Florida, at Arkansas, two at Mississippi State). He averaged 26.8 yards on kickoff returns with touchdowns at Florida and vs. Vanderbilt. He became only the seventh player in NCAA history to return a punt and a kickoff for a touchdown in the same game when he did it against Florida in “The Swamp.” He is the only player who ranks in the nation’s top 11 in punt returns, kickoff returns, and all-purpose yardage.
In addition, Abney is a quality wide receiver. He caught 40 passes for 569 yards and four touchdowns this season and ranks third in school history in pass receptions and pass receiving yardage.
In addition, Abney has been chosen first-team All-America by the Football Writers Association of America CBSSportsLine.com, and CNNSI.com. Abney is the first Wildcat to earn first-team All-America honors as a return specialist. He has been a consensus All-SEC selection.
The Walter Camp All-America team is the nation’s oldest All-America team and has been selected since 1889. The team is named in honor of former Yale University player and coach Walter Camp, known as “The Father of American Football,” who pioneered many of the rules that still shape the game today.
