Castell Adds Yet Another Defensive Player of Week Honor to his Collection
By: Bryce Houchens
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Kentucky safety Jordan Castell has earned the Lott IMPACT Trophy Player of the Week honors adding to his collection of awards after the Oklahoma win.
The Lott IMPACT Trophy Player of the Week honor comes after being named Southeastern Conference Defensive Player of the Week, Bronko Nagurski National Defensive Player of the Week, Thorpe Award National Defensive Back of the Week, Walter Camp National Defensive Player of the Week and Senior Bowl Defensive Player of the Week, making it a total of six different honors for Castell after the win in Norman.
This is the second time that Castell has earned the Lott award, the first coming after his performance in College Station, Texas after the win over Texas A&M. He joins 2018 UK linebacker Josh Hines-Allen, who earned the weekly honor three different weeks as the second Wildcat to earn the honor, on his way to winning the Lott IMPACT Trophy that season.
Castell, a 6-foot-2, 211-pound senior, helped seal the Wildcats’ first-ever victory at Oklahoma with an interception return for a touchdown in the closing minutes.
The Orlando native intercepted a pair of passes in critical moments of UK’s 21-13 victory at Oklahoma, while also adding nine tackles and a pass breakup. Averaging 23 points per game entering the game, Castell helped limit the Sooners to 13 points.
In the second quarter, Oklahoma lined up for a field-goal attempt from the UK 10-yard line. However, the Sooners attempted a pass into the end zone instead. Castell did not go for the fake, rather he stayed with the intended receiver and snared the interception.
In the fourth quarter, with UK clinging to a 14-13 lead and the Sooners driving, Castell read a route over the middle and intercepted the pass at the 41-yard line. He veered to his left and outran the pursuit to score his first collegiate touchdown.
Castell leads the SEC this season with four interceptions and ranks tied for 15th among all active FBS players for career interceptions with seven. A sure tackler from his safety position, he is UK’s second-leading tackler and ranks sixth in the SEC in tackles per game with 8.14 per outing.
Player of the Week winners are determined by an internal vote of former players, coaches and Lott IMPACT Trophy board members, in conjunction with a fan vote on social media.
The No. 12/12 Wildcats (6-1, 4-1 SEC) play host to Vanderbilt (3-4, 0-4 SEC) on Oct. 24 at Kroger Field. The game kicks off at 7:30 p.m. ET and will air on SEC Network. The game is sold out, but verified resale tickets for Saturday’s game may be purchased at UKathletics.com/fb26.
