IOWA CITY, Iowa — University of Iowa senior defensive back Desmond King has been named to the preseason watch list for the 2016 Paul Hornung Award, presented by Texas Roadhouse. The announcement was made Friday by the Louisville Sports Commission.
The Paul Hornung Award is presented annually to the most versatile player in college football. This year’s watch list includes 43 multi-talented college football players.
King (5-foot-11, 200-pounds) started all 14 games at cornerback a year ago, tying the Iowa single-season record and ranking second in the country with eight interceptions, while recording 72 tackles and a team-high 13 pass breakups. He also handled the majority of punt returns and kickoff returns last season, averaging 14.2 yards on 17 punt returns and 24.4 yards on 29 kickoff returns.
The Detroit, Michigan, native was named a unanimous consensus All-American, a recipient of the Jim Thorpe Award, and a recipient of the Jack Tatum Award in 2015. In addition, King was named one of five finalists for the Walter Camp Player of the Year Award, named the Tatum-Woodson Big Ten Conference Defensive Back of the Year, and was voted first team All-Big Ten by Walter Camp, Associated Press, AFCA, FWAA, Sporting News, USA Today, SI.com, ESPN.com, Athlon Spots, ProFootballFocus.com, Phil Steele, and College Sports Madness.
Friday’s honor marks the fourth watch list King has been added to — he was named to the Bednarik Award Watch List, Nagurski Trophy Watch List, and Jim Thorpe Award Watch List. In addition, Athlon Sports listed King as preseason first team All-America and All-Big Ten, preseason second team All-Big Ten (punt returns), and preseason third team All-Big Ten (kickoff returns).
After Week 12 of the regular season, a panel of college football experts creates a candidate list of approximately 10-15 players based on performance during the season. The Paul Hornung Award Selection Committee chooses the finalists and ultimately the winner from the candidate list. For the actual selection, a 16-member Selection Committee votes for finalists in mid-November. The Selection Committee chooses the winner in early December from among the finalists after they compete in bowl games.
Iowa opens the 2016 season at home on Sept. 3, hosting Miami (Ohio) inside Kinnick Stadium. Tickets are available for purchase by contacting the UI Athletic Ticket Office at (800) IA-HAWKS and online at hawkeyesports.com.