Tavion Gadson on Final Comeback Player of the Year Award Watch List
Kentucky defensive linemen Tavion Gadson have been named one of 52 college football student-athletes being considered for the 2025 Comeback Player of the Year Award Watch List, announced today by the College Sports Communicators (CSC) in association with The Associated Press (AP) and the Fiesta Bowl Organization. The semifinalists and finalists will be named in December.
Gadson, a sophomore from Savannah, Georgia, was forced to miss the first eight games of 2024, his redshirt freshman season, after suffering a knee injury in April that required him to undergo left knee surgery for posterior lateral corner reconstruction, a bicep femoris repair, and a fibular collateral ligament repair. Gadson excelled in his rehabilitation, returning to play vs. Tennessee on Nov. 2 and Murray State on Nov. 16 before a left hamstring injury forced him to miss the final two regular-season games.
Through seven games this season, Gadson has totaled 23 tackles, 3.0 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks and a quarterback hurry. He got a career-high four tackles, his first career sack and his first career QBH at South Carolina. He also had four tackles at Georgia and vs. Texas. Against Tennessee, he was named one of four game captains, and totaled three tackles.
Since 2018, the award has recognized college football student-athletes for overcoming injury, illness, or other circumstances. At the conclusion of each season, in a vote by a panel of college football writers, editors, and sports information directors, three college football student-athletes are honored as Comeback Player of the Year Award winners at the Vrbo Fiesta Bowl.
Previous winners of the Comeback Player of the Year Award include: 2024: Ike Larsen (Utah); Raheim Sanders (South Carolina); Tyler Shough (Louisville); 2023 – Blake Corum (Michigan); Jacob Dobbs (Holy Cross); Mike Hollins (Virginia); 2022 – Mohamed Ibrahim (Minnesota); Laiatu Latu (UCLA); Michael Penix Jr. (Washington); 2021 – Aidan Hutchinson (Michigan); McKenzie Milton (Florida State); J.J. Weaver (Kentucky); 2020 – Jarek Broussard (Colorado); Kenneth Horsey (Kentucky); Silas Kelly (Coastal Carolina); 2019 – Jake Luton (Oregon State); Drew Wilson (Georgia Southern); Octavion Wilson (Salisbury); 2018 – Antwan Dixon (Kent State), Seth Simmer (Dartmouth); Antonio Wimbush (Carson-Newman). For a complete list of past honsorees, visit www.Comeback-Player.com.
