Josh Kattus Named Finalist for Pop Warner College Football Award
Kentucky tight end Josh Kattus has been named one of four finalists for the 15th annual Pop Warner College Football Award, Pop Warner Little Scholars, the nation’s preeminent youth football organization, it was announced today.
Kattus, a Cincinnati native, has played in 33 career games for Kentucky with 15 starting assignments and has 21 catches for 310 yards and five touchdowns. This season, he had six catches for 77 yards and two receiving scores and was Johnny-on-the-spot, recovering a fumble at the two-yard line and lunging in the end zone for UK’s game-winning touchdown at then-No. 6 Ole Miss. He got his first receiving touchdown of the season on a 27-yard play in the first quarter at then No. 7 Tennessee and also caught a four-yard touchdown pass at No. 3 Texas.
Academically, Kattus, a communication major, is a three-time Dean’s List honoree and was named to the First-Year SEC Academic Honor Roll as a freshman and the SEC Fall Academic Honor Roll as a sophomore.
Kattus also excels in giving back to the community. In May of 2024, he participated in the Dancing with the Lexington Stars event, helping raise over $34,000 for the Lexington Rotary Club Endowment Fund and Surgery on Sunday, a nonprofit providing free outpatient procedures for those in need. He and partner Mattie Lewis even won the coveted Mirror Ball trophy.
Since 2022, Kattus, along with several teammates, has visited the Kentucky Children’s Hospital each week during the spring and fall football seasons, visiting with kids, playing games and just providing a reprieve from hospital life. He also actively volunteers at Lexington’s Ronald McDonald House and Scott County Humane Society.
The Pop Warner Little Scholars National College Football Award will be announced on December 9 as part of the 67th Pop Warner Super Bowl at Camping World Stadium, which is held on December 7-14.
Previous recipients have included, Tony Bradford (Texas Tech), Prince Amukamara (Nebraska), Chase Minnifield (Virginia), Sean Renfree (Duke), Gary Bush (Purdue), Jordan Richards (Stanford), Brandon Chubb (Wake Forest), Evan Engram (Mississippi), Braxton Berrios (Miami), CJ Conrad (Kentucky), Michael Pittman, Jr. (USC), Ian Book (University of Notre Dame) and Elijah Hicks (University of California) and Kenneth Horsey (Kentucky).
Founded in 1929 and headquartered in Langhorne, Pa., Pop Warner Little Scholars is the nation’s oldest youth football, cheerleading and dance organization and the only youth sports organization that emphasizes academics as a prerequisite for participation. Pop Warner participants enjoy the opportunity to learn and compete in their sports in an atmosphere that emphasizes fun, safety, academics and character. For more information on Pop Warner and its programs visit www.popwarner.com or follow Pop Warner on Twitter. Instagram or Facebook.
