Dec. 14, 2011
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Four University of Kentucky football players have been named All-Southeastern Conference performers by Phil Steele’s College Football, including senior linebacker Danny Trevathan, who was also named a fourth-team All-American.
On top of the All-America honor, Trevathan was selected as a first-team All-SEC linebacker, while Guy was named second-team defensive back and Warford was named second-team offensive lineman. Tydlacka was tabbed a third-team punter.
A native of Leesburg, Fla., Trevathan made 143 tackles during the season for the Wildcats, leading the SEC in tackles for the second-consecutive season. Trevathan ranked fifth in the nation in tackles with an 11.92 average per game and led the nation’s linebackers in fumbles forced (five) and was second among the nation’s linebackers in interceptions with four. The senior finished the season with 11.5 tackles for loss, three quarterback sacks, five pass breakups and two quarterback hurries.
Trevathan ends his UK career ranked 10th all-time on Kentucky’s career tackle list with a total of 374 stops. Trevathan had a total of 20 games with double-figure tackles in his career, including a career-high 17 tackles in 2010 against Auburn, the eventual national champion, and also against Mississippi State, Ole Miss and Georgia.
Guy was just behind his teammate in tackles, ranking second in the SEC with 120 stops. The native of Lexington, Ky., also ranked tied for 22nd in the nation in tackles, averaging 10 per game. Guy had eight games of double-figure tackles this season, including a high of 14 at South Carolina and against Tennessee. The senior was named National Defensive Back of the Week for the Western Kentucky game when he had 10 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss and two interceptions. Guy was named fourth-team All-SEC by Phil Steele’s College Football last season.
Guy finishes his career at Kentucky with 297 tackles after recording back-to-back seasons of 100 tackles or more the past two seasons.
Warford, from Richmond, Ky., allowed only one quarterback sack during the season and was graded at 87.5 percent for the season. Warford, who was named third-team Mid-Season All-America by Phil Steele’s College Football, led the Wildcats in knockdown blocks with 34.
Tydlacka, a senior from Louisville, Ky., ranked fourth in the SEC by averaging 43.6 yards per punt. His outstanding hangtime and punt placement helped UK rank second in the league in net punting with 39.6 net yards per punt.
Tydlacka had 20 punts of at least 50 yards, leading the SEC in that category, and he also placed 19 punts within the 20-yard line.
Tydlacka was named the SEC Special Teams Player of the Week in his final game as a Wildcat, the 10-7 win over Tennessee. With field position at a premium for that game, Tydlacka kept Tennessee backed up all day long, as the Volunteers did not begin a drive outside their 30-yard line the entire game. He punted nine times that day for a 43.6-yard average and his placement and hangtime did not allow UT to return a punt.
Smith Named to SEC All-Freshman Team by SEC Blog on ESPN.com: University of Kentucky quarterback Maxwell Smith has been named to the Southeastern Conference All-Freshman Team by ESPN.com’s SEC Blog, consisting of Chris Low and Edward Aschoff.
A true freshman from Granada Hills, Calif., Smith played in eight games, including three starts when Morgan Newton was sidelined by injury. Smith finished the season completing 84-of-153 passes (54.9 percent) for 819 yards, four touchdowns and four interceptions. Smith also completed the longest pass play of the season for the Wildcats when he connected with junior La’Rod King on a 55-yard strike.
Smith’s best game of the season came in Kentucky’s 30-13 win against Ole Miss, when he completed 19-of-36 passes for 283 yards and two touchdowns. His 283 passing yards set a single-game school record for a true freshman (non-redshirt) quarterback. The old record was 208 passing yards by Larry McCrimmon vs. Florida in 1978.
Smith led the Wildcats to 20 unanswered points in the fourth quarter as UK rallied from a 13-10 deficit at the end of three periods. It marked the 14th time since 2006 that UK has come from behind to win in the fourth quarter
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