Jordan Castell Named a Jim Thorpe Award Semifinalist
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Kentucky safety Jordan Castell has been named a semifinalist for the Paycom Jim Thorpe Award, honoring the nation’s best defensive back, the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame and Jim Thorpe Association announced Tuesday.
Castell has helped the Wildcats to a 7-1 overall start and a first-place 5-1 mark in the Southeastern Conference. He is Kentucky’s second-leading tackler with 65 stops — already a career high — and is tied for the team lead in interceptions with four pickoffs. The Orlando native leads the SEC and ranks third nationally in interceptions. Castell’s 8.3 tackles per game ranks as the most among all SEC defensive backs and is fifth in the country for DBs.
Castell’s play in the backfield has aided UK’s defensive effort to a plus-13 margin in turnovers, which leads the conference and ranks third in the country.
The 6-foot-2, 211-pounder has produced some of Kentucky’s most electrifying defensive plays this season. Most notably, he picked off two passes, including a 41-yard return for a touchdown, to give the Cats a 21-13 cushion in the win at Oklahoma. It was his first collegiate touchdown. He also added nine tackles and a pass breakup in the win. For his efforts, he earned four national honors (Walter Camp National Defensive Player of the Week, Bronko Nagurski National Defensive Player of the Week, Thorpe Award National DB of the Week, Panini Senior Bowl National Defensive Player of the Week), as well SEC Defensive Player of the Week, for his performance against the Sooners.
In the upset win at then-No. 9/8 ranked Texas A&M, Castell had a fourth-quarter interception in the shadow of his own goalpost, essentially clinching the win over the Aggies. Castell led the team with a career-high 13 tackles in the 31-21 victory. He earned Lott Trophy National Defensive Player of the Week and Senior Bowl National Defensive Player of the Week honors.
Castell was responsible for seven tackles — including two for a loss of 14 total yards in the opener vs. Youngstown State. Against Alabama, Castell had nine tackles and his first interception as a Wildcat.
In Kentucky’s most recent win over Vanderbilt, Castell led the team with eight total tackles. One of those stops went for a 1-yard loss.
Castell is one of 15 finalists for the Thorpe Award. The award finalists will be announced on Nov. 24. The award recipient is selected from the three finalists by the Thorpe Award selection committee. The award was established in 1986 and is named after history’s greatest all-around athlete, Jim Thorpe. Thorpe excelled as a running back, passer and kicker on the offensive side of the ball, but also stood out as a defensive back. In addition to his legendary performance on the football field, Thorpe played professional baseball and won Olympic gold medals in the decathlon and pentathlon.
Kentucky has an open date this week and will return to action on Nov. 7 with a road game at Tennessee. The game is set to kickoff at 6:15 p.m. ET and will air on ESPN.
