Tight end Jacob Tamme and punter Tim Masthay have been voted to the 2007 Academic All-America Team as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America and sponsored by ESPN The Magazine.
Tamme (Danville, Ky.) is a first-team Academic All-American and Masthay, a junior from Murray, Ky., was named to the second team. It is only the third time in school history that more than one Wildcat has earned the honor in the same season, as it also happened in 1978 and 2005.
Tamme graduated in three years with a degree in Integrated Strategic Communication and a 3.82 grade-point average. He is now in his second year of study for his Master?s in Business Administration and has a 3.83 master?s GPA. In addition to the CoSIDA honor, he is one of 15 finalists for the Draddy Trophy, given by the National Football Foundation and Hall of Fame for the national scholar-athlete of the year. That award will be named on Dec. 4.
The Academic All-America team takes athletic accomplishments into account as well as academic performance. On the field, Tamme has caught 53 passes for 584 yards and five touchdowns this season. He is Kentucky?s all-time leading pass-catching tight end, No. 2 in Southeastern Conference history, with 130 career receptions.
Masthay has a 3.72 GPA with a major in Economics. He is in his third season as the team?s starting punter and has a career-best 39.8-yard average this year. He handles kickoffs for the Wildcats and leads the Southeastern Conference with 20 touchbacks. He also serves as the placekick holder for record-setting kicker Lones Seiber.
Seiple to Represent UK at SEC Legends: Larry Seiple will represent the University of Kentucky as one of the Southeastern Conference Football Legends this weekend at the SEC Championship Game. The 12 SEC Legends, one from each league school, will be honored at a dinner on Friday and will be introduced at halftime of Saturday?s game.
Seiple was a versatile performer who starred for the Wildcats as a runner, pass receiver, kickoff returner and punter from 1964-66. He was named All-SEC as a junior and received UK?s ?Unsung Hero Award as a senior. He holds the UK records for average yards per pass reception in a season (23.5 yards per catch, 1965) and career (19.8 average). He caught 72 passes for 1,422 yards during his career.
Seiple went on to the National Football League and played 11 years for the Miami Dolphins. He also was a long-time assistant coach in the NFL, working with the Detroit Lions, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and Miami Dolphins. Seiple also spent several years working in athletic administration at Florida Atlantic University. He is now retired and lives in Pembroke Pines, Fla.
Practice Resumes This Weekend; Coaches Recruiting: The Kentucky football team will resume practice Saturday and Sunday. During the week, the coaches are on the recruiting trail. The players are continuing their academic work as they wrap up the semester (exams Dec. 10-14).
Kentucky Football Calendar, Practices Open to Media and Public: The Kentucky football practices on Saturday and Sunday are open to the media and public. Practices will be held at the Nutter Training Facility, although practices could be moved indoors to the Nutter Field House in case of bad weather.
Sat. Dec. 1 – Practice, 9:55 to 11:55 a.m., Nutter Training Facility, open to media and public
Sun. Dec. 2 – Practice, 12:20 to 2:25 p.m., Nutter Training Facility, open to media and public
